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THE 



MOURNER IN ZION 



COMFORTED. 



WILLIAM HAMILTON, D.D. 

M 

Minister of Strathblane, Scotland. 

REVISED AND IMPROVED, FROM THE SECOND EDINBURGH EDITION, 
BY THE % 

AUTHOR OF THE COMFORTER. 

Let not your heart be troubled, neillierlet it be afraid. — John xiv. 27. 

PITTSBURGH: 
PUBLISHED BY COOK AND SCHOYER, 

JOHNSTON AND STOCKTON*, — COREY AND FAIRBANK, CINCINNATI; 
MAXWELL, COOK AND CO., LOUISVILLE. 

1834. 






[Entered according to the act of Congress, in the year 1834, by 
Cook & Schoyer, in the Clerk's Office of the Dictrict Court 
of the Western District of Pennsylvania.'] 



/?£* 



Printed by Johnston &, Stockton, 37, Market Street. 



PREFACE. 



" Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the 
upright in heart. The God of love has lavished on them 
all the riches of his grace, and furnished them with the 
noblest blessings and the most inexhaustible sources of 
consolation. For them he has delivered up his own 
Son to death, and provided a salvation containing all that 
a guilty immortal can need for his present safety and 
happiness, and for his future and everlasting welfare. 
For them an eternity of honour and delight is spreading 
its glory before them; and they are invited just now to 
enter into rest; and till they see him as he is, to walk 
in the light of his countenance, to go on their way re- 
joicing, and abound in hope through the power of th<^ 
Holy Ghost. 

u From various causes, however, many of the best of 



4 

men, whose souls are most thoroughly exercised unto 
godliness, live far below their privileges ; and are, for 
long periods, and some for the greater part of their lives, 
destitute of that peace and comfort which the Gospel so 
amply discloses; and which, by the blessing of God, 
more enlarged and enlightened views of its nature would 
enable them to entertain. Whilst the careless and har- 
dened, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness 
for ever, are living in ease and feasting themselves with- 
out fear; many of the dearest of God's children, who 
shall soon reign with Christ in righteousness, and be sat- 
isfied with his likeness, are walking in darkness without 
light, going mourning without the sun, or suffering his 
terrors and distracted. 

" To the afflicted pity should be shown. But no suf- 
ferers have stronger claims upon our sympathy and kind- 
ness, than those who are in trouble on account of the 
state of their souls before God. It is at once the most 
painful distress which any in this world can sustain ; and 
at the same time there is none which we have greater 
encouragement to undertake to remedy. The provisions 
of the Gospel are so full, various, and comprehensive, 



5 

that there is no perplexity, despondence, or alarm, under 
which a spiritually-minded person can labour, which 
they are not fitted to remove : and if they fail to afiVd 
immediate and complete relief, the fault must lie either 
in the unskilful manner in which they are administered, 
or in the patient's refusal to receive them. In itself the 
antidote is infallible, and the depression which believers 
experience generally arises from defective views of the 
glorious Gospel, or a partial reception of its health-giving 
and joy-creating discoveries. 

" The following volume is intended as a contribution 
to the removal of some of those causes of spiritual de- 
jection, which frequently occur. And if the principles 
contained in it, are cordially embraced, the Mourner in 
Zion shall, before many years, be ushered in the full 
blaze of celestial light and the unbounded possession of 
eternal bliss. With such a prospect before us, let us in 
the meantime strive to do honour to his generosity and 
truth, by relying on his promises, living near him, ap- 
plying and using the riches of his grace, and endea- 
vouring more and more to promote his interest and 

honour. This will connect earth with heaven, and the 
1* 



6 

toils and trials of time with the peace and triumphs of 
immortality. 

"And if any who are strangers to the renewing of the 
Holy Ghost shall look into this publication, let them 
remember that the matters which are here discussed are 
not vain things. They are inseparably connected with 
the safety of the soul. The day is not far distant when 
you also shall discover, that the possession of the whole 
universe is not to be compared with an interest in the 
righteousness of Immanuel: and if you despise, or ne- 
glect it now, you are preparing for yourselves an amount 
of wretchedness and horror, before which all the suf- 
ferings of time shrink into insignificance,- of wretched- 
ness and horror too great for the powers of human 
utterance, and which endless ages of lamentation «and 
mourning will neither repair nor diminish. For what 
will it profit you to gain the whole world and lose your 
own soul? or what can you give in exchange for your 
soul? Consider what I say: and the Lord give you 
understanding to know, in this the accepted time and 
day of visitation, the things which belong to your ever- 
lasting peace." 



7 
Go forth, little Volume, in the name of the Great 
Comforter of souls, comfort all that mourn, give them 
beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the 
garments of praise for the spirit of heaviness. 

Pittsburgh, January, 1834. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

On the Importance of Religious Joy. 

Page 

Provision made for Joy — it is enjoined — honours God — ad- 
vances religion — improves personal holiness and happi- 
ness. 13 

CHAPTER II. 

On Distress arising from the greatness of Sin. 

No guilt is too great for the power and grace of Christ. He 
is Almighty — atonement all-sufficient — calls of the Gospel 
universal — all are commanded to believe — expostulations 
with the impenitent — threatenings against them — promises 
to all who return — former examples of Christ's power and 
willingness to save. - - 26 

CHAPTER HI. 

On the fear of having committed the Sin against the 
Holy Ghost 

This sin includes opposition to Christ and his cause — arises 
from hatred— committed in opposition to knowledge — ac- 
companied with blasphemies, and is exasperated by admo- 
nition. But when a desire is cherished for the Divine fa- 
vour, it is no proof that this sin has been committed be- 
cause convictions have been resisted — evil thoughts haunt 
us — blasphemous words have been uttered — religion has 



10 

been reviled — deliberate sin has been perpetrated — or that 
the heart seems hardened, ^43 



CHAPTER IV. 

On the want of Humiliation and sorrow for Sin. 

No distress for sin can be too great — consolation generally 
obtained after alarm and terror — no measure is prescribed 
for the degree or duration of preparatory distress and trou- 
ble — their design is to lead to Christ, and no soul can ever 
come to him too soon or too confidently. - - - 61 

CHAPTER V. 

On the weakness and want of Faith. 

Some involve themselves in trouble from confounding faith 
with great mental powers — with its peaceful and comfort- 
able fruits — and with what constitutes its perfection. 
Strong faith is relative — sometimes strongest when sus- 
pected to be weakest. Salvation secured to all that is 
sound and living — and the kindest promises made to the 
weak in faith. 81 

CHAPTER VI. - 

The same subject continued. 

To establish and maintain faith pore not upon difficulties 
and dangers, but look at the character of God who invites 
our trust — study the promises — and implore the teaching 
of the Holy Spirit. Remonstrance with the timid and 
doubtful. - 97 

CHAPTER VII. 

On the want of the Assurance of Salvation. 

Assurance not inseparable from a state of grace, otherwise 
the essence of faith would consist in a belief of our own 
salvation — the agency of the Spirit would be unnecessary 
to maintain our peace — temptation could not destroy our 
hope — the desponding would be under condemnation — 
and the confident and presumptuous would be safe. That 
assurance is attainable is evident from Christ's love to his 
people — from the change which they undergo at regener- 



11 

ation — some have attained it — it is enjoined — it is pro- 
mised. Assurance ennobles, purifies, and supports the 
soul. 118 

CHAPTER VIII. 

On the remains of Corruption. 

Religion produces a great change upon the character. It 
does not make the Christian in this life perfect. But still 
there is an essential difference betwixt him and the irreli- 
gious. His sins are generally inward and spiritual. His 
outward transgressions are committed ignorantly and in- 
voluntarily. They are only occasional and temporary — 
he resists all sin, and shuns every appearance of evil. - 136 

CHAPTER IX. 

On Desertion. 

Believers often regard themselves as deserted when they re- 
ceive no return to their prayers — derive no advantage 
from the ordinances — labour under languor — experience 
no success in their benevolent services — and are subjected 
to multiplied trials. Desertion sometimes originates in 
the appointment of God; but is generally occasioned by 
apostasy of heart — remissness in duty — and open sin. - 155 

CHAPTER X. 

The same subject continued. 

Those who have fallen by iniquity must return anew to God 
through Christ. Those conscious of no cause for this dis- 
tress, must recall the former instances of God's favour. If 
they cannot take encouragement from past experience, 
they are exhorted to look into the present state of their 
heart. 170 

CHAPTER XI. 

On Temporal Affliction. 

Affliction is not always the effect of the Divine displeasure, 
nor reserved for the irreligious. It prevents and cures sin 
— promotes conformity to the image of Christ — discovers 
the excellence of the promises — enhances the value of 



12 

spiritual enjoyments — gives fervour to prayer — occasions 
greater supplies of Divine strength and consolation — pro- 
cures more frequent visits of the Spirit — and prepares for 
greater future glory. 181 

CHAPTER XII. 

On the Fear of Death. 

There is nothing repulsive in the person, nor formidable in 
the presence of Him, before whom death places the Chris- 
tian. Nothing terrible in the passage from earth to hea- 
ven. Nothing to rivet the affections of the believer to 
the things of earth and time. His salvation cannot be 
complete till he reach heaven. 196 

CHAPTER XIII. 

On the Evidences of a State of Grace. 

Whatever may occur to alarm or agitate, all may rejoice in 
their own safety who know that their souls are resting for 
acceptance in the sight of God upon the righteousness of 
Christ— that they love him— obey his commandments — 
and delight in spiritual enjoyments. - 218 



CHAPTER I. 
ON THE IMPORTANCE OF RELIGIOUS JOY. 



" Let pure devotion in my heart 
For ever dwell, thou God of love; 
And light and heavenly peace impart, 
Sweet earnests of the joys above." 



Man is born to trouble, and Christians are not exempt- 
ed from the ordinary calamities and sorrows of humanity. 
Many are the afflictions of the righteous. Though their 
hopes are high, and they know that, when they reach their 
home, they shall find their inheritance to be invaluable 
and immense ; while they are in the house of their pilgrim- 
age, they experience much to disturb their peace, and 
to exercise their faith, fortitude, and patience. Their fa- 
culties are limited and feeble; their graces are imper- 
fect; their understandings are only partially enlightened; 
their hearts are deceitful; their bodies are frail; they are 
placed in a wicked and ensnaring world ; surrounded with 
manifold temptations; and exposed to severe and com- 
plicated trials. They cannot always do the things that 
they ought, nor even the things that they would. When 
they would do good, evil is present with them : they feel a 
law in their members warring against the law in their 
minds; and are burdened with a body of sin and death. 

Though, therefore, it is the duty of all who are recon- 
ciled unto God by the death of his Son, to be strong in 
the Lord, to glory in his love, to rejoice alway ; there are 
seasons when this joy becomes unattainable, and when 
their souls are filled with distress and anguish. Is it pos- 
sible, or proper, to rejoice when God forsakes them, and 
2 



14 

the consolations of the Gospel are withdrawn? Can they 
rejoice in the weakness of their faith, and in the languor 
of their love? in the wanderings of their affections, and 
the coldness of their hearts? in their distance from God, 
and faint and indistinct views of his glory ? Are they to 
rejoice in the dishonors which the profane are heaping 
upon his blessed name, and the awful amount of wrath 
which they are treasuring up for themselves against the 
day of wrath? Are they to rejoice when they are beset 
with temptation, or are actually overtaken with iniquity? 

These are circumstances which call for weeping, and 
lamentation, and mourning. 

But, at the same time, every believer ought to be on his 
guard -against the presence and the power of these evils; 
to stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made 
him free ; and to give all diligence to increase his joy in 
the Lord, and to rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. For 
God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salva- 
tion by our Lord Jesus Christ; and he is graciously call- 
ing us into his eternal glory, through a life of faith upon 
his Son, and of peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. 

Many indeed entertain the most base and dishonoura- 
ble ideas of the blessed Gospel, and of the adorable God 
who gave it. They suppose that Christianity is a severe 
and gloomy system, that crushes the spirits of those who 
embrace it, and subjects them to a life of perpetual toil 
and unenlivened sadness. They imagine that God is a 
harsh and rigorous master ; who wrings from the hard 
hands of his people the utmost measure of service which 
they can render, and in return furnishes them with the 
most scanty and miserable supplies. They seem to ap- 
prehend that he would be alarmed and offended were they 
to discover any symptoms of liveliness and joy; that he 
has called them to bondage and suffering; and that, 
though in heaven they shall be permitted to spend their 
existence in happiness and bliss, they must pass the time 
of their sojourning in perplexity and pain, and serve him 
with slavish despondency and overwhelming terror. 

But do these ideas correspond at all with the character 
of that God, who is the Father of mercies and the God of 



15 

iove? of that God who takes pleasure in his people, and 
rejoices in the prosperity of his saints? After he has so 
loved the world that he has given his only begotten Son, 
that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but 
have everlasting life; after he has sent down the Holy 
Ghost to lead us into all truth, to shed abroad his love in 
our hearts, to bear witness with our spirits that we are the 
sons of God, and fill us with all peace and joy in believ- 
ing; is it credible that he can have any delight in our 
fears and troubles, or any desire to prolong our sufferings, 
or multiply our sorrows? 

When we hear the advent of Jesus celebrated as a 
cause of exultation and of gladness; when we hear the 
prophet crying, "Sing, O ye heavens, for the Lord hath 
done it; shout, ye lower parts of the earth; break forth 
into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree there- 
in : for the Lord hath redeemed Jacob, and glorified him- 
self in Israel;" when we find the faithful longing for his 
appearing as the consolation of Israel ; and the celestial 
inhabitants clustering around the place of his birth, and 
singing, "Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace and 
good will to men ;" when we hear the Son of God him- 
self declaring, "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, 
because he hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto 
the meek ; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, 
to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the 
prison to them that are bound, — to comfort all that 
mourn;" when we hear him opening his mouth in bless- 
ings, and inviting all the labouring and heavy laden to 
come to him for rest ; is it credible, is it possible, that he 
can have any wish to lengthen out the sadness of his chil- 
dren, or to involve them in deeper affliction and distress ? 

When he has enjoined his ministers to comfort his peo- 
ple; to strengthen the weak hands; to confirm the fee- 
ble knees; to say to them of a fearful heart, Be strong, 
fear not, for your God will come and save you ; what 
other inference can we draw from these precious facts, 
than that he loves the peace and felicity of his followers, 
and is delighted with their serenity and cheerfulness? 
Unless he is set upon our welfare, and solicitous to ad 



16 

vance our present happiness and improvement; why has 
he given us all things richly to enjoy! why has he crowd- 
ed into the promises of his word, and the provisions of his 
grace, such an inexhaustible fund of hope and rejoicing? 
why has it pleased him that in Christ should all fulness 
dwell; and that out of his fulness we should receive even 
grace for grace ? 

When the brief pilgrimage of life is closed, he has pre- 
pared a heaven of purity and of bliss; where his servants 
shall see his face; where they shall serve him day and 
night, and spend the long range of their eternity in one 
uninterrupted jubilee. In his presence is fulness of joy; 
at his right hand there are pleasures for evermore. But 
who are they who are counted worthy to obtain a part in 
these exalted services, and in these ineffable and never- 
ending triumphs? Are they the angels of light? the ten- 
ants of other worlds? creatures of a superior rank and of 
nobler powers, whose natures were never stained with sin, 
nor their souls wrung with anguish? No: they are the 
sons and daughters of Adam who are in Christ Jesus ; the 
men and the women who, from a discovery of their guilt 
and wretchedness, have fled to the Lord Jesus Christ; 
have embraced him as all their salvation and all their de- 
sire; and who, from love to his name and gratitude for 
the matchless condescension and kindness which he has 
shewn them, are actively and unreservedly devoted to his 
interest and honour. 

My dear readers, Are you in Christ Jesus ? Are you 
living on him by faith? Do you count all things but loss 
for his sake ; and determine to know nothing save Christ, 
and him crucified ? Then, were death to cut you down 
this moment, where would you be the next? In heaven; 
before the throne ; in the presence of God and of the 
Lamb ; and in full possession of all the dignity and bless- 
edness that encircle the presence of the Eternal. For 
blessed are the dead who die in the Lord : they rest from 
their labours, and their works do follow them. They are 
absent from the body, and present with the Lord. 

Now : have all the dead, who have died in the Lord, 
been instantly admitted into heaven; and if you are in 



17 

Christ; were death now to strike you down, would you 
also, in a moment, be translated from earth to heaven, 
from your present employments, to the full blaze of ce- 
lestial glory, and all the ecstacy of its elevated and en- 
raptured adorations? Then, where is the decree or man- 
date that prohibits you just now from tasting your sacred 
and religious joys, and dooms you to dejection and dis- 
tress? Had the last saint, who entered the golden gates 
of the new Jerusalem, any better right or firmer claim to 
its felicity and honour than his union to the Lord Jesus 
Christ? And, joined to him in the bonds of an everlast- 
ing covenant, loving him with your whole heart, and cleav- 
ing to him with all your strength and mind; your plea is 
just as strong and your title as valid as his. Were death, 
therefore, this instant, to snap asunder the frail thread of 
life; without the slightest accession to your right, would 
you, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, clear all 
the distance betwixt the throne of grace and the throne of 
glory, betwixt the society of the saints on earth, and that 
of the general assembly and church of the first-born in 
heaven? Then, granting that your pilgrimage were yet to 
extend to threescore and ten, on what ground can you be- 
lieve that you are debarred from the immediate, full, un- 
interrupted enjoyment and use of all the riches of redeem- 
ing grace ; and all the unsearchable loving-kindness of an 
infinite God? 

The bare gift of God in creation and in providence, 
without any additional security, completely warrants us to 
apply and use the precious benefits which he confers. 
And is any thing more than his free gift requisite to au- 
thorize and encourage you to rest on the Lord Jesus 
Christ; and, from this day and onward till you shall see 
him as he is, to appropriate and use all the promises of his 
word, and all the provisions of his love? Yet to you God 
gives his Son, his righteousness and strength : to you he 
gives his grace and Spirit. All things are yours. He 
that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us 
all; how shall he not with him also freely give us all 
things ? Is the man entitled by the gift of God to the en- 
joyment of his life and health? the philosopher, of his rea- 
2* 



18 

son and learning? and the industrious, of their skill and 
success ? And is there any thing more than this free gift 
necessary to imbolden you forthwith to convert, to all the 
purposes of your own holiness and comfort, the immense 
and invaluable provisions of the everlasting Gospel? 

Do I say that this is your right? I must go farther; 
and affirm that this is your duty. For what more than 
the commandment of the great and eternal God is needful 
to render any exercise, whether pleasant or painful, your 
obvious and indispensable duty? Why was Abraham 
bound to offer up his Son? Why are you obliged to de- 
ny yourselves, to take up your cross, to follow Christ? to 
give yourselves to reading, meditation, and prayer? to 
practise honesty and charity? to fight the good fight of 
faith, and lay hold on eternal life? Because such are the 
plain and express commandments of God. And is his 
simple commandment sufficient to enforce the perform- 
ance of these duties ? And is any thing more necessary 
to bind you to live on Christ; to walk by faith; to be 
strong in the Lord and in the power of his might ; to re- 
joice in the Lord alway, and again to rejoice ; to abide in 
him ; and to cultivate that peace which passeth all under- 
standing, and that joy which is unspeakable and full of 
glory? 

When such are the privileges and duties of Christians; 
let me entreat all who are reconciled unto God by the 
death of his Son, and who are laying up your treasure in 
heaven, to avail yourselves of your advantages. Endea- 
vour to rise superior to disquietude and fear. Labour to 
realize the things that are freely given you of God. Live 
on your inheritance. Leave no part of it unoccupied and 
unemployed. Gather more and more of the first-fruits of 
the Spirit. And strive more and more to maintain and 
establish that peace and joy which arise from faith in the 
Saviour and close communion with God ; and which are a 
foretaste of future glory. 

By conduct such as this, 

I. You will greatly promote the honour of God. 



19 

Loaded with his blessings, and under such immense 
obligations to his generosity and grace, can you resist 
the inquiry, What shall we render unto the Lord for all his 
benefits? 

There is nothing by which you can more decidedly ex- 
press your own gratitude and more effectually advance 
his honor, than by your real satisfaction in his friendship 
and happiness in his service. It is greatly to the discre- 
dit of a teacher or a general, when their scholars or sol- 
diers are peevish and discontented, melancholy and mis- 
erable. But it reflects the highest honour upon the wis- 
dom of their measures, and the kindness of their hearts, 
when those under their charge are attached to their per- 
sons, and evidently delighted with their situation and em- 
ployment. And can any thing cast a greater shade over 
religion, than to see those who profess it, going in the 
bitterness of their spirits ; seldom or never serene or cheer- 
ful, but frequently trembling and complaining? But he 
that offereth praise glorifieth God. The man whose spi- 
rit and temper demonstrate that the lines have fallen to 
him in pleasant places, and that he has a goodly heritage ; 
that the possession of the whole creation would be a poor 
and empty acquisition, compared with an interest in the 
favour of the great and the eternal God : that man does 
justice to the goodness and liberality of his heavenly Fa- 
ther. He does honour to the gospel which he has em- 
braced, and contributes to raise religion in the esteem, 
and recommend it to the pursuit of those around him. 

The men of the world do justice to their friends, and 
credit to the objects which they pursue. They speak 
with rapture of their connexion with the wealthy and the 
great, and give unquestionable proof of their gratification 
upon every accession to their property or fame. Now, 
shall they feel or express delight and exultation in their 
paltry and perishing pleasures ? What satisfaction should 
you feel, and what gratitude and rejoicing should you dis 
play, for all the riches of redeeming mercy and all the in 
exhaustible resources of eternal glory? Shall they ex- 
hibit marks of contentment and happiness in the bondage 
of sin and in the drudgery of Satan? And shall you be- 



20 

tray melancholy and sadness in the service of the Father 
of mercies, and in the glorious liberty of the sons of God? 
Shall they exult in the hollow and precarious pleasures 
of a transitory world? And shall you be gloomy and de- 
pressed who have all the blessings of the everlasting gos- 
pel, and all the fulness of Deity for your portion? 

Is it fitting that the children of a king should be sad 
from day to day ? Should the brethren of Jesus, and the 
heirs of his eternal glory, allow their brows to be wrinkled 
with care, or their hearts filled with anguish? From the 
men of the world who have their portion here, whose trea- 
sures are confined within the narrow limits of earth and 
time, who are without God and without hope, we might 
justly expect the sigh of disappointment, and the murmurs 
of vexation and despair. But should not Israel rejoice in 
him that made him? Should not the children of Zion be 
joyful in their King? Called by his grace into the fel- 
lowship of his dear Son, and made partakers of all the 
plenitude of his salvation ; should not your temper and 
deportment correspond to the magnitude of your privi- 
leges, and the grandeur of your prospects? And since 
your enjoyments and hopes so infinitely surpass all that 
worldlings know ; should not you labour as far to excel 
them in the calmness and tranquillity of your spirits, and 
in the stability and elevation of your happiness and joy? 
" Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous ; for praise is come- 
ly for the upright. Rejoice in the Lord always; and 
again, I say, rejoice." 

Religious peace and joy contribute greatly 

II. To advance the salvation of your brethren. 

The eyes of many are upon you. Every thing border- 
ing upon dejection and melancholy has a tendency to dis- 
gust the ignorant and the worldly at the ways of godliness, 
and to make them cling more tenaciously to their sordid 
and forbidden pleasures. Finding in sin much to gratify 
their low and vitiated taste, and strangers to the hopes 
and consolations of the gospel; they rashly and unjustly 



21 

conclude, from the dismal appearance of its timid and 
morbid disciples, that our encomiums upon its importance 
and excellence are false; and that it is their wisdom to 
cleave to the joys which they know, rather than renounce 
them for those which are unknown, and which they regard 
as doubtful or visionary. 

Multitudes, accordingly, of the gay and the thought- 
less are deterred from crossing the threshhold of Christian- 
ity, from the apprehension that they must leave all liveli- 
ness and cheerfulness behind them, and spend the remain- 
der of their pilgrimage in gloom and dejection. Many 
of the young contemplate a devout life with horror: and 
the aged votaries of vice and folly tremble at the thoughts 
of their children or relatives being brought under the 
power of the truth, from the fear that it would ruin their 
success in life, and deprive them of all felicity and joy. 

Every instance of religious gloom and despondence 
has a tendency to confirm these prejudices, and to coun- 
teract the diffusion of the benign and salutary influence 
of our holy faith. But when by the calmness of your 
minds, and the general amenity and cheerfulness of your 
tempers, you demonstrate that there is an unquestionable 
reality and an indescribable worth and power in the hopes 
and comforts of the gospel; this conduces to soften their 
aversion to Christianity, and to excite a love and a long- 
ing after an interest in its invaluable blessings. When 
they see that godliness has the promise of the life that 
now is; that even in the present state, they have great 
peace that love the law of God; that they walk in the 
light of the Lord, and in His name rejoice all the day ; 
that even in the things in which they fancy that they ex 
eel, you are immeasurably above them; this convinces 
them of the certainty of what the Bible reveals, and af- 
fords them a security that all the promises of better and 
nobler enjoyments will be amply fulfilled in the world 
beyond the grave. 

If therefore you would wish to gain your fellow-im- 
mortals to the obedience of the faith, and preserve them 
from everlasting wretchedness and ruin; if you would 
wish to do justice to the religion which you profess, and 



22 

raise the name of Jesus above every name, let the peace 
of God which passeth all understanding keep your heart 
and mind: abound in hope through the power of the Holy 
Ghost: let the world see that he that believes has eternal 
life; and that the way to heaven above lies through a hea- 
ven below. Show forth the praises of Him who hath 
called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. 

Religious peace and joy contribute greatly 

III. To improve your holiness. 

We are not our own. We were formed for the service 
and honour of God. We are bought with a price ; and 
are bound to glorify God in our bodies and spirits which 
are his. We are required to receive, observe, and do all 
things whatsoever God hath commanded us. We must 
do whatsoever our hand findeth to do, and do it with our 
might. When we pray, it should be as with the Holy 
Ghost sent down from heaven : when we hear, it should 
be as for eternal life : when we enter upon any religious 
undertaking or beneficent enterprise, it should be with 
all the energy and decision of men who are determined 
to spend and be spent in works of faith and labours of 
love, and who are resolved that Christ shall be magnified 
in us and by us, whether that shall be by life or by death. 

But how can these grand ends of the christian life be 
obtained while you are distracted betwixt hope and des- 
pair? How can you advance in the christian course, if 
you are obliged to devote to the combating of your doubts 
and fears that attention and energy which ought to be 
sacredly reserved for the calls of piety, and exerted in 
the positive active service of the Lord ? Instead of ad- 
vancing boldly into the broad field of duty, and embark- 
ing in the work of the Lord with the intrepidity and zeal 
of men who are in earnest for eternal life ; your minds 
will be confined to inferior and elementary matters. In- 
stead of being occupied with manifesting the glory of 
God, you will be engrossed with the means of ensuring 
your own peace and safety. Your religious progress will 



23 

be limited and desultory: your graces will be feeble and 
languid: your troubles multiplied and painful: and your 
assaults from Satan frequent and galling. The most 
sickly and stunted plants are the first that are attacked by 
vermin: the most weak and timid animals are the first 
victims of the beasts of prey: and the most downcast and 
desponding Christian is the most unfit for the various du- 
ties of his calling, and suffers most from the cruel annoy- 
ances of the great enemy of souls. 

But where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 
The man who knows his calling and election of God ; the 
man who has the witness in himself that he is Christ's, 
can keep nothing back from his divine and adorable Mas- 
ter. He yields himself to him entirely, and lives to him, 
and to him alone. In the attitude of ready preparation 
and of cheerful submission to his will, he stands waiting 
the injunctions of his Master, saying, " Here am I, what 
wouldest thou have me to do?" He is stedfast and im- 
movable, always abounding in the work of the Lord : and 
whatsoever he does, he does from the heart, and as unto 
the Lord and not unto man. 

If therefore you would wish to grow in grace ; to cruci- 
fy the flesh with its affections and lusts ; to abound in the 
fruits of righteousness; to shine in the beauties of holi- 
ness ; to know, obey, and submit in all things to the will 
of God as the angels do in heaven ; give all diligence to 
make your calling and election sure, and to maintain that 
peace which passes all understanding, and that joy which 
is unspeakable and full of glory. 

IV. Religious peace and joy have a great effect upon 
your happiness. 

Would you like, ten, twenty, or thirty years after this, 
to be free from all care and fear, from all distress and pain, 
from all sickness and sorrow; to be perfectly holy and 
completely happy ? In short, would you like when you 
die to go to heaven, to see God, to be with Christ, to 
walk with him in white, to follow him whithersoever he 
goes, to possess fulness of joy and pleasures for ever- 
more? 



24 

If you would wish to be perfectly happy then : why 
should you decline this day, this hour, to be made ex- 
ceeding glad in the light of his countenance, and to have 
the peace of God reigning in your heart, and keeping 
your heart and mind? If you are longing for an abun- 
dant entrance at death into the everlasting kingdom and 
joy of your Lord ; is there any reason why, in the mean- 
time, you should refuse the first-fruits of the Spirit, and 
a foretaste of that rest which remains for the people 
of God? Is there any reason why you should postpone 
your bliss, and tie yourselves to distraction and misery 
for another hour? 

If there is no cause at all for lengthening out your 
wretchedness, be persuaded instantly to banish all your 
doubts and fears; to secure clear and scriptural views of 
the fulness and freeness of the Gospel, of the compassion, 
the power, and all-sufficiency of Jesus ; of your own right 
and title by his own word and promise to all the riches of his 
grace and all the blessings of his salvation. You shall 
then know your calling and election of God. You shall 
then be feasted with fat things and fed with hidden man- 
na. You shall know the things that are freely given you 
of God : and though not so high, you shall be as safe, and 
almost as happy as the spirits of the just made perfect. 
Can they possess a right of nearer access into his pre- 
sence, than what you enjoy; who are permitted at all 
times to approach boldly to his throne ; to come near un- 
to him, even unto his seat, and to order all your cause 
before him? Can they possess a more intimate union 
with Immanuel, than that which is formed betwixt him 
and the subjects of his saving mercy, who already are 
joined to him, and made one spirit? Can they enjoy the 
protection of a God more powerful, than Him who speak- 
eth, and it is done, who commands and all things stand 
fast? Can they be blessed with the affection of a more 
ardent and faithful friend, than him who sticketh closer 
than a brother? Can they be enriched with the munifi- 
cence of a benefactor more liberal and kind, than him 
who spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us 
all? Can they claim a portion more immense, than the 



25 

fulness of him who filleth all in all 7 or an inheritance 
more comprehensive and inexhaustable than that of being 
heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ? 

The highest around the throne can possess nothing 
nobler nor better than the presence and the favour of Him 
in whom all fulness dwells ; who wields the universe at 
will, and is in all, and through all, and over all. Yet if 
you are Christians, all these inestimable privileges and 
honours are your own. Can any thing therefore on this 
side of heaven contribute more to your real dignity and 
delight, than to clear up your right to the provisions of 
the everlasting gospel, to realize your interest in the love 
of God, and live upon your spiritual and eternal portion? 

If therefore you value real felicity; if you covet solid 
and lasting peace, learn the sacred art of living wholly 
upon the Lord Jesus Christ, and of abiding in the joys 
and comforts of the Holy Ghost. This will raise your 
mind above all that is vain, or low, or painful. This will 
sweeten every trouble, and enhance the value of every 
blessing. This will fortify you against every danger, and 
carry you in safety and comfort through every difficulty 
and trial. This will teach you to rejoice in tribulation, 
and to glory in the cross. This will enable you to look 
forward to heaven as your home; and, long before you 
leave your cottages of clay, give you a specimen of its 
elevated honours and ineffable enjoyments. 

Many things concur to deprive believers of their reli- 
gious comfort. In the Gospel, however, there is enough 
to meet every case of spiritual distress and trouble, to re- 
lieve you from all your embarrassment and melancholy, 
and to establish and maintain the most delightful and sta- 
ble peace and joy. 

We shall now consider in detail some of the principal 
causes of religious distress, and the means by which they 
may be most effectually met and removed. 
3 



CHAPTER II. 

ON DISTRESS ARISING FROM THE GREATNESS 

OF SIN. 



; Why, thus, my soul, with sin opprest? 
And whence these woes that fill my breast? 
In all thy care, in all thy woes, 
On God, thy steadfast hope, repose." 



Secure and hardened sinners give themselves little or no 
concern about their souls, and the means of laying hold 
on eternal life. They take pleasure in unrighteousness; 
roll iniquity like a sweet morsel under their tongue ; make 
a mock at sin, and sport themselves with their own delu- 
sions . From their systematic neglect of the Bible, of 
prayer, of the ordinances of religion ; and the pertinacity 
with which they persevere in habits of ignorance, indo- 
lence, and impiety ; instead of regarding religion as the 
one thing needful, they seem to consider it as the only 
thing that is needless ; and instead of believing that there 
is any exertion necessary to get to heaven, they appear to 
imagine that the great difficulty lies in getting to hell. 

No sooner, however, does the Holy Ghost set home the 
commandment upon the conscience in its purity and pow- 
er, than the man obtains clear and impressive ideas of the 
exceeding sinfulness of sin in general, and of the number 
and enormity of his own transgressions.- He discovers 
that all unrighteousness is sin, and that the wages of sin 
is death. He finds that all his righteousnesses are as fil- 
thy rags ; and that that heart of his, in which he had trust- 
ed as generous and good, is deceitful above all things, 
and desperately wicked. Salvation now becomes the 



27 

supreme object of his desire and pursuit. His great so- 
licitude is to be delivered from the wrath to come. His 
earnest and unceasing inquiry is, What must I do to be 
saved? He hears of the righteousness of the Lord Jesus 
Christ : but he has lived so long in sin, he has done so 
much to grieve the Spirit of grace, and provoke the God 
of glory, that he is terrified lest grace will not reach, lest 
mercy will not pity, nor the adorable Redeemer, all kind 
and compassionate as he is, spare a rebel so unworthy, 
nor extend forgiveness to a criminal so vile and abandon- 
ed as he. 

If this is the case with any of my readers; think not 
that I can provide for your relief, or minister to your 
comfort, by declaiming on the general mercy of God, by 
palliating the evil of your trespasses, or by extenuating 
the danger of a carnal and irreligious life. I dare not in- 
sult nor deceive you by representing that base and abom- 
inable thing as possessed of slight and trifling demerit, 
which has defaced the image of our Maker on our hearts, 
unhinged the frame of nature, and brought the Lord of 
glory to the tortures of the cross. Neither the tongue of 
men nor of angels can express the turpitude and maligni- 
ty of sin, nor the horrors of a ruined eternity. And 
though God is rich in mercy unto all them that call upon 
him ; he is a God of purity. He is glorious in holiness ; 
and will by no means clear the guilty without satisfaction 
to his justice. Unless, therefore, your transgressions are 
forgiven, and your sins covered, you are under sentence 
of condemnation, and exposed to all the power of his 
anger. And " who knows the power of his anger? Who 
can dwell with devouring fire ? Who can lie down with 
everlasting burnings ?" 

To provide for your encouragement and comfort, I 
must renounce all these false and ruinous delusions, and 
lay before you more Scriptural and solid grounds of con- 
solation. I must reason with you respecting the power 
and the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the fulness 
and freeness of his salvation. And here I may observe 
that, though there is an exceeding sinfulness in sin, and 
its just and natural wages are eternal death; though your 



28 

offences have been infinitely heinous; and, criminal and 
profligate as others have proved, the number and flagitious- 
ness of your provocations have exceeded: yet if after all 
you loathe yourselves for your iniquities, and are grieved 
and heart-broken for your transgressions ; if after all you 
are longing for reconciliation to God through the blood of 
his Son, and will only come to Christ, and cleave to the 
atoning efficacy of his death ; I can assure you that you 
have no cause of discouragement, nor any reason for 
despair. 

If you have any ground for considering your case as 
desperate, this must be, either because you believe that 
your guilt is too great for the blood of Christ to wash 
away, or that its magnitude has rendered him unwilling 
to impart to you the blessings of his salvation. It must 
be because you suspect that he wants either the ability or 
the will to save you. 

But is there any foundation for either of these awful 
suspicions? 

I. Do you fear that your guilt is absolutely too great 
for the power and the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ to 
remove? 

Jesus is the Saviour. He is the Mediator betwixt 
God and man. He was given for a light to the Gentiles, 
that he might be the salvation of God to the ends of the 
earth. The Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the 
world. 

And is Jesus unfit for his office? In selecting a Sa- 
viour for the common benefit of our race, did the Father 
lay our help upon one unequal for the mighty and appall- 
ing task? and, while our world was occupied by wretches, 
covered with the deepest crimes, and polluted with the 
foulest abominations; did he commit the work of redemp- 
tion to one unable to bear the iniquities of us all, and in- 
capable of saving every soul that sought his aid? When 
he lighted up the bright and beauteous sun, within his 
fair and splendid orb he lodged a plenitude of light and 
heat sufficient to illumine and to cheer all that live. 
When he formed the firmament of heaven, and poured 



29 

arouud our globe the liquid atmosphere ; he gave them 
space and expansion to admit all who move and breathe, 
and furnish every living thing with a never-failing supply 
of vital air. And in redemption, the last and greatest of 
all his works, where he has outdone all the productions of 
his hands, and eclipsed all the former manifestations of his 
wisdom and power, are we to suppose that his resources 
have not risen to the height of the great enterprise ? Has 
he encountered difficulties with which he cannot grapple, 
met with maladies beyond the reach of his might, and too 
desperate for the resources of his love ? Are there cases 
of guilt and wretchedness where his benevolence is over- 
come; and, notwithstanding all his kindness and com- 
passion for the penitent, he sinks beneath the dreadful 
undertaking, and finds himself unable to save? 

Jesus is almighty. He is God as well as man. He 
speaks, and it is done : he gives the commandment, and 
all things stand fast. And is there any thing too hard for 
God? Is any service too complex or arduous for him 
who suspends creation on his arm, and wields at pleasure 
all the energies of omnipotence? And whilst as God his 
power is almighty ; as Mediator, by the union of the Di- 
vine with the human nature, his atonement is possessed 
of unbounded value, and perfectly sufficient for the free, 
complete, and everlasting salvation of mankind. Let the 
applicants for his grace be ever so numerous, and their 
crimes ever so malignant and atrocious ; yet, on collect- 
ing into one all the sins of all the children of Adam, to 
what more could the whole black and odious mass amount, 
than one infinite heap of filth and loathsomeness? And 
can the obedience, the sufferings, and sacrifice of a person 
of the Divine dignity, and the matchless excellencies of 
Immanuel, be less than infinite? 

Let, therefore, your former character and present con- 
dition be what they may ; though you have run to the ex- 
cess of riot, wrought unrighteousness with greediness, 
and been almost in all evil ; though you have been guilty 
of the most impenetrable hard-heartedness, the grossest 
ingratitude, the basest treachery, and the most vile and 
provoking rebellion against the God of grace; yet if, after 
3* 



30 

all, you are ashamed and confounded for your transgres- 
sions, and longing for restoration to his favour, you may 
with safety and confidence come unto Jesus, and intrust 
into his hands the whole of your eternal interests. "For 
if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of a heifer 
sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the 
flesh; .how much more shall the blood of Christ, who 
through the Eternal Spirit offered himself without spot 
unto God, purge your consciences from dead works to 
serve the living God?" The sea has deeps capable not 
only of concealing molehills, but of burying the largest 
mountains. And in the ocean of redeeming mercy there 
are deeps sufficient, not only to hide small offences, but 
also to cover the most horrid and enormous transgressions. 
"The blood of Christ cleanseth from all sin." 

And whilst there is an inexhaustible efficacy and worth 
in the obedience, in the sufferings, and sacrifice of our 
Divine and adorable Redeemer, to pardon all the guilt, 
and to justify the persons of the whole human race, if they 
will only come to him; can you for a moment suppose 
that, 

II. The magnitude of your crimes has excluded you 
from the hope of mercy, and that he has any reluctance 
to receive you on your return, or any backwardness to 
bestow upon you the blessings of his grace ? 

Can you argue his reluctance and backwardness from 
the universal calls and free offers of the Gospel? from the 
repeated and positive commands given to all to believe on 
his name, and to accept the blessings of his salvation? 
from his affecting expostulations with the impenitent, his 
gracious promises to every one who comes to him, and 
the awful denunciations which he pours out against all 
who reject the provisions of his mercy ? or from the past 
exercise of his grace, and the instances in which he has 
saved the most profligate and abandoned ? 

Can you argue his reluctance to receive you, however 
guilty, on your return, and his backwardness to bestow 
the blessings of his grace, 

1 From the universal calls, and the free offers of the 



31 

Gospel, addressed without discrimination and without re- 
serve to sinners, whether great or small? 

Into whatever corner of the sacred volume you cast 
your eyes, you find the most ample and delightful proof 
that the Gospel of peace is not a well shut up, nor a foun- 
tain sealed; that it does not confine its immense and in- 
valuable blessings to a dozen or a score, to a few of a fa- 
mily, or the remnant of a tribe ; but lays open its rich and 
ineffable treasures to the enjoyment and use of all the 
children of Adam. Its calls and invitations reach the ut- 
most ends of the earth, and embrace, in their generous 
and heavenly provisions, every class and description of 
human wretchedness. The language in which it lifts up 
its voice, and addresses itself to the ears of mortals, uni- 
formly runs in terms such as these : "To you, O men, I 
call, and my voice is to the sons of men. Look unto me, 
and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth. Ho! every 
one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters; and he that hath 
no money, come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine 
and milk, without money and without price. Come unto 
me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give 
you rest. The Spirit and the Bride say, Come ; and let 
him that heareth say, Come : and let him that is athirst 
come : and whosoever will, let him take of the water of 
life freely." And in the same spirit of genuine, ardent, 
unrestricted liberality; in his last commission to the 
Apostles, Jesus charged them to "go into all the world, 
and preach the Gospel unto every creature." He well 
knew what a set of criminals our globe contained : he well 
knew how low some were sunk in ignorance and brutali- 
ty, and how furious and ungovernable others were in vice 
and profligacy. But without limitation or reserve he com- 
manded the Gospel to be preached to the basest and most 
hardened of the whole. Have you ceased to be inhabi- 
tants of the earth? Is your depravity more deep and 
dreadful than can be exhibited by human creatures? If 
not, then you have the most abundant encouragement 
to return to the Lord, and lay hold on the offers of his 
grace : for after this solemn charge to make a universal 



32 

proclamation of the Gospel, he adds, "He that believeth 
and is baptized shall be saved." 

Can you argue that your sins are too great to be for- 
given ; or that God has any backwardness, on account of 
their magnitude, to receive you, and bestow upon you the 
blessings of his grace, 

2. Erom his repeated and positive commands, not ex- 
cepting the most vile and unworthy, to believe on the name 
of his Son Jesus Christ, and to embrace the provisions of 
redeeming mercy ? 

The bare communication of what is necessary to our 
welfare, constitutes a sufficient right to its enjoyment and 
use. When the poor are presented with alms, and the 
sick with medicine, this completely warrants them to ac- 
cept them. The gift of reason, and the possession of the 
means of mental improvement, perfectly authorize us to 
exercise our understanding, and cultivate our intellectual 
powers. The mere opportunity of securing our safety, 
establishes a right to escape from the crush of a falling 
edifice, or from the yawning of an earthquake. And 
when our souls are poor and wretched, diseased and dy- 
ing, sunk in depravity, and in danger of being swallowed 
up by everlasting destruction; after the God of peace has 
placed the Gospel of his grace within our reach; that 
Gospel which contains all that is requisite for our tempo- 
ral happiness and eternal welfare ; what more than this 
marvellous manifestation of his mercy can you desire, to 
entitle you to lay hold on the salvation which it reveals, 
and secure all the immense and inexhaustible blessings 
which it brings ? 

After God has given us eyes and ears; instead of dis- 
puting about who has a right to enjoy and use them, I 
would like to know who is debarred from the privilege of 
possessing them, and of availing himself of all the advan- 
tages and comforts which they impart? After the al- 
mighty arm of Jehovah has hung out the effulgent orb of 
day to illumine and cheer the countless millions of our 
race ; instead of disputing about who has a right to look 
on his radiance, I would like to know who is discharged 
from basking in his beams, and taking the full benefit of 



33 

his light and heat? And when the ever-blessed God has 
sent his mercy after us; when he calls on all the helpless 
and miserable wanderers of our race to return to the arms 
of his love, and find their heaven of heavens in his pre- 
sence and favour : instead of contending about who has a 
right and title to go to him, or to believe on him, I would 
like to know where is the man or woman who is prohibit- 
ed from approaching him, and from embracing the offers 
of his compassion, and the provisions of his beneficence? 
When a king sends to a city, languishing under the hor- 
rors of famine, a supply sufficient to meet their wants, and 
appointed expressly for gratuitous distribution amongst 
all the sufferers ; who has a right to intercept the flow of 
his bounty, or to cut off the meanest and most obscure 
within the walls from the effects of his munificence ? And 
when God has so loved the world, that he has given his 
only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should 
not perish, but have everlasting life ; when the Son of 
Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost, 
and invites all to look to him, and be saved : I would like 
to know who has a right to come betwixt us and the all- 
glorious Mediator, and arrest the generous current of his 
kindness? Has the most indigent and starving a right to 
the royal bounty? And shall the vilest and most aban- 
doned of our race, upon his application, be debarred ac- 
cess to the adorable Redeemer, and excluded from em- 
bracing the blessings of the common salvation ? 

But if the mere universal offer of salvation through the 
Lord Jesus Christ, authorizes all to accept it ; tell me 
how mightily, how irresistibly,*this right is strengthened 
and confirmed, when the gift of salvation is accompanied 
by an express injunction to receive it? Now, in order at 
once to cut up every fear and jealousy by the roots, and 
to lay the controversy at rest for ever respecting the right 
and warrant of sinners to go to the Saviour and embrace 
the blessings of the great salvation ; we are commanded 
to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith is represented 
in the Scriptures not only as practicable, as warrantable, 
and lawful; but as our positive, binding, and indispensa- 
ble duty. "This is his commandment, that ye should be- 



34 

lieve on the name of his Son Jesus Christ. This is the 
work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent."* 
The first commandment in the law is, "Thou shalt have 
no other gods before me." But as every prohibition re- 
quires the reverse of what it forbids; as the prohibition of 
murder and theft, requires the preservation of life and the 
exercise of brotherly kindness : the prohibition of having 
any other gods, obliges us to take the Lord for our God, 
and to employ him for all the blessed and glorious purposes 
for which an infinite and all-sufficient God can be applied 
and enjoyed. To have the Lord for our God is the same 
as to possess an interest in all the riches of redeeming 
mercy, and in all the fulness of the everlasting Gospel. 
This is the finishing, the crowning blessing in the dispen- 
sation of grace. What more could Adam in paradise 
have desired, or what more can an angel in the world of 
light enjoy, than to be united to the Most High, and have 
the Lord for his God ? Yet, so far from being left in un- 
certainty about your right to go to the Saviour, and ac- 
cept the unsearchable riches of his grace, by the clear and 
express authority of the great and eternal God, you are 
commanded to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and to 
take the Lord for your God. 

And do you need a special warrant to do your duty ? 
After we are plainly enjoined to search the Scriptures, to 
pray, to venerate the holy name of God, to reverence his 
sanctuary, and hallow his Sabbaths ; is a new and addi- 
tional warrant, written, signed, and sealed, by the hand of 
the Most High, necessary to authorize us to fulfil these 
obligations? And when we are so distinctly and forcibly 
enjoined to believe on the name of the Lord Jesus; what 
additional security can you demand to imbolden you to re- 
ly on the righteousness of Immanuel, and to take all the 
riches of redeeming love for your own? 

If you make any dispute about the extent of the Gos- 
pel call, and the right of the sinner to go to the Saviour, 
and embrace all the fulness of the great salvation ; I would 
like to know who has a right to search the Scriptures, to 

* 1 John iii. 23. John vi. 29. 



35 

pray, to reverence the name of God, and keep holy his 
Sabbaths. If you can tell me who is discharged from the 
performance of the one duty ; then, but not till then, I 
can tell you who is debarred from the other. If you can 
point out a man or a woman, who, in consequence of the 
greatness of their guilt, are forbidden, by express and po- 
sitive statute, from searching the Scriptures, from pray- 
ing, from reverencing the name of God, entering his house, 
or keeping holy his Sabbaths; then, but not till then, will 
I be able to point out a single individual, who, from the 
number and enormity of his crimes, is prohibited from 
coming to the adorable Redeemer, and claiming through 
him an interest in all the blessedness and glory of the 
great salvation. The calls of the Gospel are as wide as 
the requisitions of the law. If the last reach the farthest 
limits of the globe; the former also extend to the utmost 
ends of the earth. And the authority of Jehovah is just 
as great and as irresistible in the one, as in the other. 
The precept, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with 
all thy heart, and with all thy soul," is not more clear and 
obligatory than the command that all men should repent 
and believe the Gospel. And till the magnitude of your 
offences shall release you from the obligation to love the 
Lord with your whole heart and soul, no amount of crimi 
nality can free you from the obligation to return to the 
Lord, and to* believe on Jesus Christ whom he hath sent. 
Thus, by the provisions of the everlasting Gospel, the 
blessings of salvation are rendered accessible to the whole 
human race ; and it is as much the duty as the privilege 
of every man who hears them to embrace them: and it is 
at his peril, at the peril of his immortal soul, that he hr.s 
the presumption and madness to reject them. And when 
it is thus rendered your duty to believe on the Son of 
God, will you contract any guilt, or incur any danger, by 
doing what he says; and, in compliance with his com- 
mandment, trusting in him, and resting on him? Will 
you be condemned for reading your Bibles, speaking the 
truth, and practising honesty? And will you be more ex- 
posed to condemnation for believing, in obedience to the 
injunction of the Most High, on the name of the Lord 



36 

Jesus Christ? Guilt and danger lie in disregarding the 
authority of God, but not in submitting to his will, and 
complying with his gracious requisitions. 

Your guilt may be great and your iniquities abomina- 
ble and horrid. But all unrighteousness is sin, and the 
wages of every sin is death. On the field of battle, some 
of the fallen may be more deeply wounded, and more hid- 
eously- disfigured than others. But all the slain are 
equally dead : and while nothing less than Omnipotence 
can reanimate those who have been most slightly injured, 
this is able to revive those who have been most awfully 
torn and mangled. And though the transgressions of 
men are possessed of every different degree of criminality; 
yet by nature all are dead in trespasses and sins ; and 
while nothing less than the blood and righteousness of the 
Lord Jesus Christ is able to save the most decent and 
harmless of our race, these are sufficient to save the vilest 
and most unworthy. 

Can you argue that the number and enormity of your 
sins have placed you beyond the reach of mercy, 

3. From his fervent expostulations with the most im- 
penitent and profligate ; his kind promises to all who re- 
turn; and his dreadful denunciations against those who, 
from their carelessness and carnality, refuse to be recon- 
ciled to him through the blood of his Son? 

Not satisfied with giving the most unlimited invitations, 
and the most positive commands to believe on the Saviour; 
he accompanies the whole with the most earnest and affec- 
tionate remonstrances with the impenitent and profligate. 
"What fruit had ye in those things, whereof ye are now 
ashamed? for the end of those things is death. What 
shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world, and 
lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange 
for his soul? Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for 
why will ye die, O house of Israel?" Much as you have 
done to provoke his indignation, he has no pleasure in 
your death. If you will only return to him, you shall 
live. Your guilt, however great, shall be forgiven ; and 
your iniquities, however heinous, shall be blotted out. 
He does not ask, why you have polluted yourselves with 



37 

vice ; why you have sinned against your own souls ; re- 
belled against his authority, and involved yourselves in 
guilt and depravity: but why, by rejecting the great sal- 
vation, and all the provisions of his mercy, you will entail 
on yourselves the everlasting consequences of your crimes, 
and deprive yourselves of all the blessedness and glory of 
his kingdom? 

Without excepting the most flagitious and atrocious of- 
fenders, he gives the most kind and unqualified assuran- 
ces of a gracious reception to all who return. "Him that 
cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out. Come unto 
me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give 
you rest. Come now, and let us reason together, saith 
the Lord, though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as 
white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they 
shall be as wool." 

In order to rouse them to consideration, and reclaim 
them from the evil of their ways, and the ruin that attends 
them; he pours out the most awful denunciations against 
the profane and the hardened. "He that believeth on 
the Son hath everlasting life ; but he that believeth not 
the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth 
on him. The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all 
the nations that forget God. Because I have called, and 
ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man 
regarded: but ye have set at nought all my counsel, and 
would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your ca- 
lamity, and mock when your fear cometh." 

Look at all this, and say, if he is not only willing to re- 
ceive all who come to him, but even strongly set upon 
your salvation? When he has all power in heaven and in 
earth; when in a moment he could render a due reward 
to the wicked, and turn all the profane and profligate into 
hell; unless he is solicitous to secure your salvation, why 
does he bear, with so much long-suffering, all your provo- 
cations and sins? Why does he give you line upon line, 
and precept upon precept, and bless you with all that is 
necessary to ensure your present and eternal welfare ? 
Why did he assume our nature; sojourn as a man of sor- 
rows in this world of guilt and woe; submit to the ago- 
4 



38 

nies of Gethsemane, and the tortures of the cross? What 
was the design of all this but to dissipate every suspicion 
and fear; and assure you that whosoever will may come 
unto him, and that him that cometh he will in no wise cast 
out? 

Can you urge the hopelessness of your situation on ac- 
count of the greatness of your sins, 

4. From the past exercise of his grace, and the instan- 
ces in which he has saved some of the most abandoned 
and vicious of sinners? 

In strict conformity with the letter and the spirit of 
the instructions which they had received from their adora- 
ble Master, the Apostles carried the glad tidings of salva- 
tion through the earth, even unto the utmost ends of the 
world ; and did not shun to declare, even unto the most 
vile and desperate whom they encountered, all the counsel 
of God. Constrained by love to Christ and compassion 
for their perishing brethren, they regarded themselves as 
debtors to the Jews and to the Greeks, to the barbarians 
and Scythians, to the bond and the free ; and wherever 
they could gain the ear of a human creature, however 
sunk he might be in infamy and foul with crime, they 
did not hesitate to proclaim the riches of redeeming mer- 
cy, and point him to the Lamb of God that taketh away 
the sin of the world. Listen to the language in which 
St. Paul addresses the Jews at Antioch: — "Be it known 
unto you, men ancl brethren, that through this man is 
preached unto you the forgiveness of sins; and by him all 
that believe are justified from all things, from which they 
could not be justified by the law of Moses." 

Now who were the Jews to whom such an unqualified 
offer of gospel grace was given? Were they virtuous and 
upright men? Were they penitent and humble? possess- 
ed of pious hearts, and contrite spirits? They were men 
of whom the Apostle was persuaded, that, whilst they won- 
dered at the truths which he delivered, they would reject 
his testimony, and perish in their sins. The event aw- 
fully verified his fears. "They were filled with envy, and 
spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, 
contradicting and blaspheming." Nevertheless Paul and 



39 

Barnabas affirmed, that "it was necessary that the word 
of God should first have been spoken unto them."* And 
if these proud, impenitent, blaspheming and persecuting 
Jews were invited, entreated, commanded to believe on 
the Lord Jesus Christ; and assured that, on their believ- 
ing, they should receive the free remission of all their ini- 
quities: then who can be excluded from the calls of the 
everlasting gospel ; or be so low, depraved, and loathsome, 
as to be beyond the reach of the compassion and kindness 
of the Almighty Redeemer? 

Such were the state and character of the people among 
whom the Apostles were sent to exercise their ministry. 
They were blind, foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving 
divers lusts and passions. The success, however, of the 
benevolent labours of these heralds of mercy was great. 
Though the Jews at Antioch rejected their message ; mul- 
titudes were pierced to the heart; subdued to the obe- 
dience of the faith ; proselyted to the holiness, and blessed 
with the happiness of the Gospel. And if they were not 
too depraved and hardened to become the subjects of sav- 
ing mercy, are you too, abominable and filthy to experi- 
ence the pardoning and sanctifying efficacy of ImmanuePs 
blood/ ,..;< 

By nature all are guilty before God. There is not a 
saint now in heaven, but who by birth was a child of diso- 
bedience and wrath; and up to the moment of his justifi- 
cation, was under sentence of condemnation, and exposed 
to all the horrors of everlasting misery. The salvation, 
therefore, of every individual, however sober and moral, is 
an act of divine mercy, and may be justly regarded as an 
illustration of the freeness of grace, and of the ability of 
Jesus to save. There are cases, however, in which he tra- 
vels out of his ordinary course, and appears to select men 
conspicuous for their criminality, on purpose to give lus- 
tre to the riches of his compassion, and shew what a God 
of boundless generosity and almighty power can perform. 
Such were the Corinthians. "Know ye not that the un- 
righteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not 

* Acts xiii. 38—46. 



40 

deceived : neither fornicators, nor adulterers, nor effemi- 
nate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, 
nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, 
shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some 
of you : but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye 
are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the 
Spirit, of our God."* Such too were the Ephesians.j 
And such too was the great Apostle of the Gentiles. He 
was a persecutor, a blasphemer, and injurious: howbeit 
for this cause he obtained mercy, that in him, the chief of 
sinners, Jesus Christ might show forth all long-suffering, 
for a pattern to them who should hereafter believe on him 
to life everlasting4 

It is scarcely possible to conceive a greater excess of 
riot than that to which some of these men ran, nor a great- 
er degree of heaven-daring wickedness than that with 
which they were chargeable : and yet they were pardoned, 
reconciled, and saved. And after this, can you doubt 
that there is mercy with God, and that with him there is 
plenteous redemption? Did they obtain salvation with 
eternal glory? and can you fear that your application 
shall be rejected; and that, though you return to the 
Lord, he will refuse to accept your surrender? 

Dreadful as your state and character may be, can you 
find no parallel to them in the former manifestations of 
saving mercy? Have you opposed the truth, and reviled 
the characters of the faithful ? Paul persecuted the church 
of God, and wasted it. Have you lived long in iniquity, 
and by your influence and example imboldened others in 
vice ! Manasseh had grown hoary in the ways of wick- 
edness, had taught Judah to transgress, and filled Jerusa- 
lem with innocent blood. Have you sinned against light 
and conscience, and after making a profession of the truth? 
David and Peter had long walked in the good ways of the 
Lord, when they fell by their iniquity. And notwithstand- 
ing the enormity of their offences, were these all washed 
from their pollutions, and saved in the Lord with an ever- 

* I Cor, vi. 9—11. t Eph. ii. 1—7. t 1 Tim. i. 13—10. 



41 

lasting salvation? and are your trespasses too foul to be 
blotted out, and your guilt too great to be forgiven ? 

Even supposing that your case surpasses in atrocity 
every precedent; that, though the hearts of others have 
been hard, and their conduct detestable; your heart has 
been still more stubborn and refractory, and your conduct 
still more dreadfully and outrageously wicked: remember 
there never has, and there never will, a single soul sink 
into perdition from a defect in the power and grace of the 
Redeemer. His power is almighty, and his blood cleans- 
eth from all sin. Many a dreadful desperate case has 
been put into his hands : but never one of them has failed. 
And though his mercy and his might have been exerted 
far, they have not reached their utmost limits. Bring 
then your matchless, indescribable case to this Almighty 
Saviour, and he will surpass all the former exercises of his 
generosity and power. Seize the opportunity, which it 
affords you, of doing the highest honour to the riches of 
his grace, and of enabling you through eternity to be 
loudest in the song of grateful adoring praise. Go to him, 
and you will find that this indeed is a faithful saying, and 
worthy of all acceptation, "that Christ Jesus came into 
the world to save sinners." "Let the wicked forsake his 
way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him 
return unto the Lord, and" — will he spurn him from his 
presence? make him a monument of his holy indignation 
against iniquity, and render him as miserable as he has 
been sinful? — "let him return unto the Lord, and he will 
have mercy upon him, and to our God, for he will abund- 
antly pardon." 

But amidst all the abundant and endearing encourage- 
ment to return to God; remember the necessity of com- 
ing to the Saviour, of believing on him, and of trusting in 
him. He can save to the utmost: but th^y that arc far 
from him shall perish. The munificence of the most libe- 
ral benefactor can do us no service, unless we accept his 
bounty. And unless we embrace it, all the salvation that 
is in Christ will not impart the smallest advantage to our 
soul. Religion is a personal thing, which every individu- 
al must possess for himself, before he can derive the 
4* 



42 

slightest benefit from the blessings which it contains. 
The most valuable medicine can relieve none but those 
who employ it. It does not attack contagion in the ab- 
stract; nor extirpate the maladies for which it is a speci- 
fic by encountering them in the atmosphere, eradicating 
them in the regions where they are engendered, and thus 
annihilating them all over the globe. And though Jesus 
has finished transgression, and made an end of sin ; it is 
not by extinguishing its existence, nor expelling it from 
the universe, but by removing it from the conscience of 
individual believers, and by cancelling before God the 
guilt of those who personally embrace him. 

Take care then, amidst your doubts and your fears, lest 
Satan gain an advantage over you ; lest he and your own 
deceitful hearts lead you to reject the righteousness of 
Christ, under the plausible but ruinous expectation, that 
by length of time, and a more sedulous application to the 
task of moral duties and religious observances, you may 
hereafter become more fit objects of mercy, and more wor- 
thy recipients of the favor of God. None ever was, and 
none ever will be accepted in the Beloved, but in the 
character of a sinner. The Son of Man came to seek and 
to save that which was lost; not to call the righteous but 
sinners to repentance. It is as a sinner that you must 
apply; for you never can have redemption but through his 
blood. Salvation is the gift of God. Though you should 
wait till the blast of the last trumpet, it would be as a gift 
that even then you could receive it : and as a gift you are 
welcome to it now. 



CHAPTER III. 

ON DISTRESS ARISING FROM THE FEAR OF 

HAVING COMMITTED THE SIN AGAINST 

THE HOLY GHOST. 



1 save a trembling mourner, Lord? 
Whose hope, still hov'ring round thy word, 
Seeks for some precious promise there, 
Some sure support against despair." 



Nothing affords a more amiable and decisive evidence 
of a genuine Christian, than tenderness of conscience, 
and a habitual fear, and an unchanging abhorrence of all 
evil. Whilst sinners boldly adventure upon the most fla- 
grant offences, give themselves no uneasiness about v the 
most foul and horrid enormities, and even glory in their 
shame ; a real Christian trembles at every appearance of 
the abominable thing which Jehovah hates ; dreads the 
smallest approach to evil ; and, if ever he is actually over- 
taken with iniquity, is covered with shame and filled with 
terror lest his guilt, however comparatively slight, should 
prove too great to be forgiven. 

This is the black brand fixed by the hand of the Eter- 
nal upon one of the sins of the sons of men. The same 
Scriptures which every where, in language the most dis- 
tinct and impressive, proclaim the irresistible power of 
the Redeemer, and the inexhaustible efficacy of his blood; 
the same Scriptures which expatiate upon the riches of 
his grace, and the fulness and freeness of his salvation ; 
plainly and forcibly tell us, that there is one sin for which 
no blood has been shed, and for which no pardon has been 
provided ; a sin which excludes the perpetrator from hope, 



44 

and seals him up for inevitable destruction. This is the 
blasphemy against the Holy Ghost. 

Because the invitations of the Gospel are so liberal and 
comprehensive, that salvation is offered unreservedly to 
all j because we are so completely assured of the omnipo- 
tence of the Saviour, and the all-sufficiency of his atone- 
ment; many have supposed that there is no sin exempted 
from remission; and that the only circumstance which 
prevents the pardon of any sin, is the obstinate, perseve- 
ring, and final impenitence of the transgressor. 

Of the extent of Immanuel's power, and the virtue of 
his sacrifice, we never can entertain an opinion too high. 
If such were his will, he is able to sprinkle the conscience 
of every child of Adam, and to purge our guilty globe 
from every stain and vestige of evil; to extinguish the 
flames of hell, and to cleanse its most black and loath- 
some regions, from every trace of pollution and crime ; 
to empty it of its inmates; to convey them to paradise; 
or to light it up with the splendours of purity ; to replen- 
ish it with the transports of praise, and the ecstacies of 
bliss ; and convert its wide and dreary domains into an 
image of heaven, and an abode of holiness and delight. 
For he is able even to subdue all things to himself. But 
the question is not, what is he able to accomplish ? but 
what has he promised to perform? And when we find 
that blasphemy against the Holy Ghost is represented as 
just as really a separate sin, as robbery or murder; and 
when we are just as distinctly told that it shall never be 
forgiven, as that all other sins, upon the faith and repen- 
tance of the sinner, shall be forgiven : we are bound to 
regard it as a specific sin, and to believe that it shall never 
be forgiven. This is the case from no defect in the power 
or grace of the Redeemer; but entirely from his righteous 
determination to exclude those who commit it from the 
exercise of mercy, and to leave them uniformly as monu- 
ments of his justice. Final impenitence is not so much 
an independent sin, as the natural and ordinary consum- 
mation of a gay, thoughtless, careless, and irreligious life. 
But, as many who live in this manner, scarcely ever 
heard that there is a Holy Ghost; with what propriety 



45 

can they be said to blaspheme him ? Undoubtedly all 
who are guilty of blaspheming him, die impenitent; but 
unless we are prepared to style insensibility and security 
blasphemy, we have no authority for maintaining that final 
impenitence is the sin against the Spirit of God. 

No express notice is taken of this sin in the Old Tes- 
tament. But though the name does not occur, we are 
almost inclined to think that the thing existed ; and that 
it appeared at a very early age of the world. There 
seems to have been a period in the lives of Cain, Balaam, 
and Saul, when they were totally abandoned of God, and 
given over to perdition. And there is reason to believe 
that there was something bordering upon this sin, in the 
case of those Jews for whom Jeremiah was forbidden to 
pray ; and of Ephraim, at that awful crisis, when he was 
joined to his idols, and ordered to be let alone. 

The first occasion on which it is directly mentioned in 
the New Testament, is in consequence of the accusation 
of the Pharisees, that our Lord was in confederacy with 
Satan, and cast out devils by the assistance of Beelzebub, 
the prince of the devils.* The next intimation which, it 
is supposed, is given of this sin, is in the case of Simon 
Magus; whose heart was wholly engrossed with the love 
of gaki, and who imagined that the gift of the Holy Ghost 
might be purchased with money, and converted into a 
mean of promoting his worldly aggrandisement.! To this 
subject Paul also is thought to refer, when he says, " I was 
a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious, but I ob- 
tained mercy, because I did it ignorantly, in unbelief:"}: 
words which seem to imply, that, if what he did had been 
done with the knowledge and conviction of Christ's real 
character, his condition would have been absolutely des- 
perate. In the epistle to the Hebrews, when speaking of 
the danger of apostasy, he obviously alludes twice to the 
same sin. J This appears to have been the sin committed 
by the apostate and licentious teachers, whom Peter so 

* Mat. xii. 31, 32. Mark iii. 28,29. Luke xii. 10, 
f Acts viii. 18—23. t 1 Tim. i. 13. 

$ Heb. vi.4—6; x. 26-29. 



46 

severely reprobates.* And it evidently is this sin which 
John has in view, when he says, " If any man see his bro- 
ther sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he 
shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There 
is a sin unto death : I do not say that he shall pray for it."t 

From these different passages, it appears that there are 
various shades and degrees of this sin; and that it is not 
any particular act of sin that renders it unpardonable, but 
the particular circumstances under which it is committed. 
"The act, in the case of the Pharisees, was uttering blas- 
phemous language against the miracles of Christ; in the 
supposed case of Paul, it was blasphemously persecuting, 
and otherwise injuriously treating the church of Christ; 
in the case of the Hebrews, it was apostasy from the truth; 
in the case of the false teachers described by Peter, it was 
not only persecuting the truth, but returning to sensual 
abominations." So that instead of denying the reality of 
an unpardonable sin, it would be nearer the truth to say, 
that there are different kinds of sin that are unpardonable. 

Without pretending to define accurately what the un- 
pardonable sin is; for the relief of those who are ground- 
lessly alarmed with the fear that they have committed it, 
it will be proper to point out the principal circumstances 
in which it consists. 

I. It includes opposition to Christ and his cause. 

This is a quality which, in a greater or less degree, be- 
longs to every sin : but it is pre-eminently characteristic 
of that one which is declared to be irremissible. This 
evidently was the case with the Scribes and Pharisees. 
When by a miracle, Jesus had given an indubitable proof 
of his mission, and forced upon the people the conviction 
that he was the long-looked for Messiah; to what mea- 
sures had the Pharisees recourse ? Like candid and hon- 
est men, who were doubtful of the reality of the mighty 
work which they had witnessed, did they leave the mul- 
titude to the free exercise of their judgment? carefully ab- 
stain from infusing either prejudice or prepossession into 
their minds? encourage inquiry? assist them in their re- 

* 2 Peter ii 20—23. t 1 John v. 16. 



47 

searches? and anxiously examine every incident by which 
they and the people might be enabled to arrive at a fair 
and satisfactory decision? This certainly is the course 
which they would have adopted, if they had been men of 
integrity, and had found themselves at any loss upon the 
subject. But without feeling the least uncertainty res- 
pecting either the author, or the nature of the miracle ; con- 
vinced that it laboured under no fraud nor artifice, but was 
a direct result of Divine power; in order to blast his repu- 
tation, and prevent him from enjoying the reception that 
he deserved; from pure antipathy against his person and 
his cause, they falsely and maliciously branded him as an 
impostor and an agent of Satan. "This fellow doth not 
cast out devils, but by Beelzebub, the prince of the devils." 
2. It arises from hatred and malice. 
It is not committed from want of care and watchfulness, 
as in sins of surprise; nor from want of knowledge, as in 
sins of ignorance ; nor from want of courage and resolu- 
tion , as in sins of infirmity ; nor from rashness and self- 
confidence, as in sins of presumption : but it possesses a 
guilt and malignity peculiar to itself, by proceeding from 
pure and unmingled hatred against Christ and godliness. 
Could they obtain their desire, they would gladly, not only 
extinguish the religion which he has left us, but also anni- 
hilate his own existence. They wish that there were no 
God. Their language may be bad and abusive. Their 
actions may savour strongly of the camp of Satan. But 
their hearts are worse; and could we only see what is 
passing there, we should find unbridled fury rankling 
against God and goodness. This was the case with the 
Pharisees. They hated Christ. They endeavored to en- 
snare him in his teaching: and sought by what means they 
might take away his life. They did not put him to death 
in anger: for that acts rashly, and without reflection: but 
consulted how they might destroy him; and employed ar- 
tifice and cunning to apprehend him: and thus were de- 
liberate and malicious murderers. And the same spirit of 
malevolence still characterizes the conduct of apostates. 
They crucify Christ afresh. Unable to repeat the literal 
action ; by renouncing the faith of the Gospel, and bring- 



48 

ing by their ungodly lives disgrace on the cause which they 
once professed, they give their consent and sanction to the 
diabolical deed of the Jews : they trample his blood under 
foot, and do despite to the Spirit of grace. 

3. It is committed in opposition to light and knowledge, 
and the conviction of the sinner's own mind. 

This is a circumstance which is inseparable from its na- 
ture, and goes far to mature and complete its guilt. Paul 
admits that if he had knowingly committed the crimes with 
which he was chargeable, his case would have been hope- 
less. But amidst all the means of better information that 
he possessed, he never had been persuaded of the truth of 
Christianity, and that the cause which he was persecuting 
was the cause of God : and, therefore, he tells us, he " ob- 
tained mercy, because he did it ignorantly, in unbelief." 
The Hebrews not only had the Gospel clearly announced 
unto them, but they had become the subjects of deep con- 
victions and powerful impressions. They had been en- 
lightened, and tasted the heavenly gift; they had been 
made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and had tasted the 
good word of God, and the powers of the world to come. 
Though none of these expressions denotes that Divine 
change which necessarily accompanies salvation ; they at 
least intimate, that they to whom they are applied, had 
been made to feel convictions peculiarly deep, and impres- 
sions of no common strength and liveliness ; and, there- 
fore, their future apostasy was a sinning wilfully after they 
had received the knowledge of the truth. 

This was the principal ingredient in the sin of those 
apostates mentioned by Peter. Their doom was sealed, 
because " after they had known the way of truth, they had 
turned aside from the holy commandment." And there 
can be no doubt that this was the circumstance which 
placed the Pharisees beyond the reach of mercy. Though 
they affected to treat Christ as an impostor, and to regard 
his miracles as the effect of magic or diabolical enchant- 
ment; in their hearts and consciences they knew better. 
They knew who he was.* They were convinced of the 

* John vii. 28. 



49 

Divine origin of the works which he performed. When he 
pronounced the parable of the vineyard let out to husband- 
men, they perfectly comprehended his design : and though 
they could not deny the truth on which it was founded ; 
with a pertinacity and hardihood, well worthy the first-born 
of Satan, they persevered in acting upon the principle 
which it suggested: "This is the heir, come let us kill 
him."* Though they pretended to persecute him for se- 
dition and blasphemy, the real cause on account of which 
he was put to death, was the number and the undeniable 
truth of his miracles.! Because we are forbidden to pray 
for the remission of the unpardonable sin, and yet our Lord 
prayed for his murderers; some have supposed that the 
Pharisees had not been guilty of this crime. But those 
for whom Christ prayed, knew not what they did. But 
this was far from being the case with all who had a share 
in his death. They who seized him because he was the 
heir, and who coolly replied to the heart-rending confession 
of Judas, that he had sinned, in that he had betrayed the 
innocent blood, "What is that to us? see thou to that;" 
could not allege the plea of ignorance. They sinned 
with their eyes open; and knew well what they were 
doing. 

4. It is accompanied with blasphemies and reproaches. 

It is not confined to the heart of the individual. It does 
not consist solely in mean, dishonorable, and impious 
thoughts of God. From the meaning of the word blas- 
pheme, which signifies to revile or speak reproachfully, 
we are led to believe that it uniformly proceeds to open 
ungodliness. Not satisfied with renouncing his own alle- 
giance to the Most High, this sinner wishes to unhinge 
the Divine government over others, and involve them in 
the same perdition with himself. He works unrighteous- 
ness with greediness; runs to the excess of riot; and glo- 
ries in his shame. By his foul and profane conversation ; 
by his audacious and infidel arguments ; by his vile and 
abominable works, he labours to shake the faith, under- 
mine the purity, and ruin the souls of all around him, <md 

* Matt. xxi. 33—46. t John xi. 47, 48. 

5 



50 

send down the rank and virulent poison of vice and prof 
ligacy to generations yet unborn. 

It need scarcely be added that, 

5. It extinguishes the desire of repentance, and is ex- 
asperated by every attempt to admonish the criminals of 
their danger, and lead them to return to God. 

Sold unto iniquity, and completely in love with unright- 
eousness, they hate every appearance of piety and worth: 
and the more religious and spiritual any measure is, they 
regard it with the more bitter and implacable rancour. If 
exhorted to repent and reform, they reject every entreaty 
and call : for they have loved idols, and after them they 
will go. They may not always believe that their conduct 
is right, or their state safe. The devil himself cannot be- 
lieve that it is either his duty or his interest to resist the 
government of the Almighty, and make war against the 
peace and felicity of the universe. And though they 
know well that the face of God is set against them that do 
evil, and that none can harden themselves against him and 
prosper; having long lived in sin, and wrought unright- 
eousness with greediness, they become the slaves of their 
lusts and passions, and are led captive by Satan at his- 
pleasure. Their corrupt habits obtain an uncontrolled 
dominion. And every effort to rouse or reclaim them, 
only strengthens their enmity against their benevolent ad- 
visers and the good ways of God, and leads them to launch 
out into deeds of darker atrocity and still more horrid im- 
piety. Why then should they be stricken any more, when 
they revolt more and more? " Let no man strive nor re- 
prove them. Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, 
neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample 
them under their feel, and turn again and rend you." 

Such appear to be the principal ingredients in this 
matchless enormity; which carries human depravity to its 
consummation ; which makes the perdition of the rebel at 
once certain and dreadful ; which links earth to hell ; and, 
before the daring offender quits the precincts of time, 
gives a sure and an awful presage of his eternal destiny. 
He dies in his iniquity : not because there is any defect 
in the power or grace of the Redeemer, but because he 



51 

has proudly scorned all the overtures of mercy, and all the 
calls of grace. He dies in his iniquity; not because re- 
pentance and reformation are unprofitable or unattainable, 
but because his hardened heart has rendered him recklesa 
of his fate, and filled him with a rancorous, unyielding 
aversion to the holiness and spirituality of the Gospel. 
And having thus rejected the only means of salvation, and 
having done despite to that blessed Agent through whose 
influences only that salvation can be applied, "there re- 
maineth no more sacrifice for" his " sin, but a certain fear- 
ful looking for of judgment.'" 

Now are these things so? Does this sin consist in op- 
position to Christ and his cause? Does it arise from 
hatred against him and his glorious Gospel? Is it perpe- 
trated in defiance of the convictions of conscience, and 
the dictates of a better j udgment ? Is it accompanied with 
reproaches of the faithful, and blasphemous language 
against God and godliness? Does it extinguish the de- 
sire of repentance, and exasperate the sinner by every at- 
tempt to rouse and reclaim him? Then how can you be- 
lieve that you are chargeable with this unparalleled atroci- 
ty, who are mourning over your transgressions, and long- 
ing to be reconciled unto God through the blood of his 
Son? who prefer Jesus to your chief joy, and would glad- 
ly raise his name above every name ? who are labouring to 
comply with every intimation of his pleasure, and abased 
and heart-broken because you love him so coldly, and 
serve him so imperfectly? whose bowels yearn over his 
people? who delight in the society of his saints? who are 
striving to bring all to the knowledge of his Gospel, and 
to fill the whole earth with his glory? who are ashamed 
and confounded for your past iniquities? groaning under 
the body of sin and death? and imploring grace to know, 
obey, and submit to his will in all things, as the angels do 
in heaven? When the very first effect of this sin is to 
sear the conscience, to make the transgressor regardless 
of the consequences of his conduct, and render him more 
determined and audacious in deeds of profligacy and vice ; 
can you who are standing in awe of the Divine judgments, 
who are loathing yourselves for all your abominations, and 



52 

are imploring deliverance from their guilt and power; can 
you maintain that you are chargeable with this consumma- 
tion of human impiety, and given over to blindness of 
mind and hardness of heart? When it leads those who 
commit it to despise the ordinances of religion, to under- 
value the blood of Christ, and to treat the favour of God 
with contempt; can you be labouring under the blasting 
influences of this matchless outrage against High Heaven, 
when conscious to yourselves, that you delight in the ser- 
vices of devotion, that you count all things but loss for 
the excellency of the knowledge of Christ, and would 
gladly part with the wealth often thousand thousand worlds, 
to enjoy an interest in the loving-kindness of the Lord ? 
Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water 
and bitter? Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of 
thistles? or can the feelings of friendship be found in the 
heart of an enemy ? or the fruits of penitence and piety in 
an impenitent and carnal mind? 

While you still continue to bewail your offences, and 
to long for an interest in the favour of the Most High, on 
what account can you suppose that you have sinned the 
sin unto death? 

Perhaps some will tell me, 

1. It is because they have stifled the convictions of con- 
science, and resisted the work of the Holy Spirit upon 
their hearts. 

It is really unspeakably dangerous to suppress the re- 
monstrances of conscience, and to trifle with any of the 
admonitions of the Spirit of grace. In righteous dis- 
pleasure, God may leave us to our fate, and withdraw all 
further application to our understanding and our heart. 
When he sends his mercy after us, to recall us from our 
wanderings, and bring us back to his friendship and ser- 
vice; we can never too speedily nor cordially comply 
with his gracious invitations. To disregard his kind and 
condescending addresses, is the height of criminality and 
hardihood ; and may justly provoke that dreadful sentence, 
"Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched 
out my hand, and no man regarded : I will laugh at your 
calamity ; I will mock when your fear cometh." 



53 

But however criminal and dangerous, we are not war- 
ranted to say, that the stifling of convictions and the re- 
sisting of the work of the Spirit upon the heart, are the 
sin against the Holy Ghost. Though he will not always 
strive, he has long patience with men. He waits to 
be gracious : and amidst their carelessness, security, and 
obstinacy; by his goodness, forbearance, and long-suffer- 
ing, labours to bring them to repentance. Accordingly, 
many a sinner, who has long done violence to his convic- 
tions ; who has disregarded the calls and warnings of the 
word of God ; and in order to shake off his alarms and 
fears, has plunged deeper into worldly and wicked pur- 
suits; after all has been made willing in a day of power. 
The young sinner, who has brought the gray hairs of his 
parents with sorrow to the grave : has himself, before old 
age came on, yielded to the sceptre of mercy. The stout- 
hearted, who, by their sturdy defiance of the authority of 
Heaven, have proved the vexation of one pastor; long 
after his bones have been laid in the dust, have, under the 
labours of another, been subdued to the obedience of the 
faith : just as thousands of the Jews, who had stood out 
against the preaching of the Son of man, were gained by 
the ministry of the Apostles. If therefore you are grieved 
that you have so long resisted the Holy Spirit; if you 
truly desire to be reconciled unto God, take with you 
words, and turn to the Lord. It is not yet too late. His 
language is, " Behold now is the accepted time ; behold 
now is the day of salvation," 

Some may tell me that they apprehend that they are 
chargeable with having sinned the sin unto death, because 

2. They are haunted with foul, odious, and horrid 
thoughts concerning God, and Christ, and things divine 
and eternal. 

Remember that there is a prodigious difference be- 
twixt consent and compulsion. If you forcibly enter the 
habitation of another, and replenish your house with the 
plunder of his; you are a house-breaker and a villain. — 
Though you should 'hot plant a foot upon his possessions; 
yet, if you are privy to the burglarious designs of others, 
and aid them in secreting and disposing of his propertv 
5* 



54 

you are deeply criminal in the eye of God and of man, 
and justly liable to all the penalties due to an associate in 
their felony. But if, whilst ignorant of their persons and 
their plans ; the depredators, in order to insult and annoy 
you, should fill your premises with their booty ; if night 
after night they should repeat the outrage, and deposit 
their spoils in your dwelling : while you abhor their un- 
lawful proceedings, and are grieved and ashamed at the 
indignity which they have inflicted; while you send the 
most prompt notice to the lawful owners, and raise the 
hue and cry against the banditti ; whilst you have recourse 
to every measure and employ every mean to check their 
depredations, and bring them to justice : can you be fairly 
chargeable with dishonesty and house-breaking? 

If you deliberately cherish any foul and criminal thoughts 
you are a sinner. Whether you entertain those that spon- 
taneously spring up in your mind, or indulge those that 
are suggested by wicked men or injected by Satan ; you 
are deeply guilty in the sight of God. You may fancy 
that whilst your thoughts are confined to your own bo- 
soms, you are innocent and safe. This, however, is a 
most egregious delusion. For as every man thinketh in 
his heart, so is he. Your contemplations may be airy and 
visionary. They may never be reduced to practice, nor 
unbodied in actions. But the mind that can dwell with 
delight, even in idea, upon what is forbidden, is dreadful- 
ly polluted and desperately wicked. But if blasphemous 
thoughts are hated and repelled ; if you labor to exclude 
them from your fancies, and to pre-occupy your mind 
with pure and holy meditations; if you pray for deliver- 
ance from every wandering and unworthy imagination, 
and desire above all things that Christ may dwell in your 
hearts by faith ; if you endeavour to abide in the comforts 
of the Holy Ghost, and maintain constant fellowship with 
God : however frequently and vehemently these detestable 
suggestions may return ; however humbling, galling, and 
painful they may prove; can you be justly accused of be- 
ing their author or abettor, and subjected to punishment 
for their unwelcome and hateful presence 1 It is not the 
crime, but the calamity of the man of integrity, that stolen 



55 

goods are secretly thrown upon his premises. And it is 
not your crime, but your calamity, that you are pestered 
with the thoughts which you dread, and which you vigor- 
ously labour to drive away. It is an enemy that hath 
done it. For " if I do that I would not, it is no more I 
that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me." After shewing him 
all the kingdoms of the world, and all the glory of them, 
the devil had the audacity to say to the incarnate Re- 
deemer, " All these things will 1 give unto thee, if thou 
wilt fall down and worship me." And if the Captain of 
salvation was assailed with such an impious temptation, is 
it any marvel that his followers should be harassed with 
the most horrid and odious suggestions? While, how- 
ever, you give no place to Satan, but resist him steadfast 
in the faith ; all is safe. Greater is he that is for you, 
than all that can be against you. Rest on him, and 
cleave to him. He will bruise Satan under your feet 
shortly, and make you more than conquerors. 

Some perhaps will tell me that they fear that they have 
committed the unpardonable sin, because 

3. They have uttered blasphemous words against God, 
and Christ, and the Holy Ghost- 
No language can express, nor any mind can conceive, 
the guilt and the danger of voluntary blaspheming the 
name of Him whom all nature obeys, and all the angels 
adore. Every thing approaching to profanity partakes of 
the dialect of fiends, and shews that the speaker is pos- 
sessed of the spirit that reigns in hell. But we dare not 
say that even blasphemous words, when uttered through 
the force of delirium, or the surprise of sudden and vio- 
lent temptation, are beyond the reach of forgiveness. To 
save his life, Peter denied his Master with oaths and 
curses. In his rage against the faithful, Paul compelled 
many of them to blaspheme. But, though their guilt was 
great; for a Christian ought rather to die than conceal his 
attachment to his Master, or betray the cause of the Gos- 
pel; we have no reason for believing that their crime was 
unpardonable, or their condition desperate. Peter ob- 
tained the remission of his iniquity; and it is highly pro- 
bable, that some of those whom Paul had driven into this 



56 

transgression were afterwards humbled for their offence 
and restored to mercy. Instances have occurred of per- 
sons, who, like Jerome of Prague, from a temporary alarm, 
have disguised or renounced their religion; who after- 
wards have been enabled, with heavenly calmness and 
holy fortitude, to surrender their lives for the truth. 

If oppressed with the recollection, that in a season of 
melancholy or madness, you have spoken blasphemously, 
you ought to remember that melancholy and madness are 
diseases and not sins; and that they frequently deprive 
the sufferer of responsibility for his actions. We cannot 
blame the child who, in a fit of convulsion, unconsciously 
strikes his parents. And if you have unintentionally ut- 
tered profane and impious language, and are now grieved 
and humbled for what you have said ; this grief and hu- 
mility prove that you have not sinned beyond the possibil- 
ity of forgiveness. If you had sinned the sin unto death, 
you would have been regardless of your fate, and given 
yourselves no uneasiness about the matter. 

Some may tell me that they are afraid that they have 
been guilty of this sin, because 

4. They have hated religion, and reviled and persecut- 
ed the pious. 

But however heinous such a sin may be, I dare not say 
that even every kind of hatred of the truth and persecu- 
tion of the righteous, is the blasphemy against the Holy 
Ghost. All natural men are enemies to God in their 
minds and by wicked works ; and entertain a greater or 
less degree of antipathy against the Gospel and those who 
live under its power. And yet from the ranks of natural 
men God is daily adding to the church such as shall be 
saved. The more holy the man is, the more dreadful is 
the guilt of hating and abusing him. But the holiest man 
that breathes is not exempted from the obligation of the 
precept, even with respect to the most detestable miscre- 
ant that annoys him: "Love your enemies; bless them 
that curse you ; do good to them that hate you ; and pray 
for them who despitefully use you, and persecute you." 
But if these crimes are unpardonable, why are we requi- 
red to pray for the criminals? Where was there ever a 



57 

greater degree of hostility cherished against Christianity, 
and the followers of Christ, than by Paul before his conver- 
sion ? What greater malice could be entertained against 
God and goodness, or what more horrid atrocity could be 
perpetrated, than was manifested by those who took, and 
crucified the Lord of glory? yet even some of these were 
pricked in their hearts, repented, and were baptized with 
the Holy Ghost.* And if melted into contrition upon ac- 
count of your past enmity to God and his people ; can 
you doubt, if you apply to the blood of sprinkling, that a 
free and full pardon will also be extended to you ? 

Some perhaps may tremble lest they have committed 
this unpardonable crime, because 

5. They have sinned deliberately and wilfully, when 
they knew that what they did was wrong, condemned by 
the law of God, and exposed to the severest visitations of 
his vengeance. 

But though presumptuous sin is possessed of the deep- 
est dye ; and, without repentance, will be followed with 
the most dreadful retributions; we dare not say that evan 
this, heinous as it is, is beyond the reach of forgiveness 
The sin of David in the matter of Uriah ; the sin of Jonah, 
in fleeing from the presence of the Lord, when sent to pro- 
claim the Divine judgments against Nineveh; must have 
been committed with the knowledge that they were evil, 
and calculated to draw down the wrath of the Most High. 
And yet David and Jonah were afterwards brought to gen- 
uine humiliation and contrition of spirit, and were pardon- 
ed and accepted. 

Others perhaps may tell me that they are terrified lest 
they have committed this sin, because 

6. After making a profession of religion, they have 
fallen by their iniquity ; and now when they would wish 
to be reconciled to God, and return to their duty and alle- 
giance, they cannot. 

They feel no compunction for their sins ; no bitterness 
nor vexation of soul for trie evils that they have done; 

* Acts ii. 36 — 41. 



58 

and, though they wish to mourn over the dishonour which 
they have offered to the blessed God, no tear drops from 
their eyes, and no sighing nor sorrow proceeds from their 
soul. Notwithstanding all the guilt under which they are 
lying, their heart remains as cold, hard, and insensible as 
a stone. They fear that their day of grace is past ; that 
God has given them up in anger; and that all their alarms 
and terror are no better than the unsanctified horrors of 
the proud and impenitent Saul, when the Spirit of the 
Lord had departed from him ; or of the wretched Judas, 
who repented, and went and hanged himself. 

For the relief of persons in this situation, it must be ob- 
served, that there is a wide difference betwixt sickness 
and suicide. The patient is unexpectedly seized with his 
malady: he dislikes it; and longs to recover his health. 
The self-murderer courts death, and is resolved on his 
own destruction. And there is as great a difference be- 
twixt backsliding and apostacy. The backslider may not 
be so completely humbled and melted as he would wish 
for his treachery and baseness. But whilst he abhors him- 
self, he loves and adores the glorious God : and, whilst he 
is oppressed with an overwhelming sense of his monstrous 
unworthiness, he has no desire to increase it. Though 
fallen he has no wish to lie still. The strongest, the su- 
preme desire of his heart is to be raised from his degrada- 
tion; to regain his former standing; to recover his lost 
joys, and to be fixed more firmly than before, in the love 
of his heavenly Father. But the apostate, when he falls, 
has no desire to rise. He wishes to lie still; and is irrita- 
ted at every attempt to raise and restore him. The back- 
slider, when admonished of his offence, returns speedily, 
and seeks earnestly after God. The apostate is indignant 
at his reprovers ; and, the farther he proceeds in his un- 
godly career, becomes still more outrageous in vice, and 
more desperately set upon his sins. Evil men and sedu- 
cers wax worse and worse. Peter as well as Judas sinner 1 , 
against the Saviour : Cranmer as well as Sharp betrayed the 
faith. But whilst the one was instantly roused to a sense 
of his criminality, and made the most ample reparation 



59 

within his power for his crime; the other plunged deeper 
and deeper in guilt, till his course of impiety was arrested 
by the dread realities of eternity. 

Whilst, therefore, you abhor the sins which have separa- 
ted betwixt your soul and God; while you supremely 
prize his favour, and eagerly employ the means for regain- 
ing his friendship; how can you believe that the day of 
your visitation is past? What affinity can you imagine 
betwixt your case and that of Saul; who, when he per- 
ceived that the Lord had forsaken him, forsook him still 
further; and much as he had previously done to provoke 
him, completed his career of rebellion by having recourse 
to an avowed agent of Satan? What resemblance can 
your conduct possess to that of Judas; who, after he had 
betrayed the innocent blood, instead of repairing to the 
great atonement, insulted the all-sufficiency of the Re- 
deemer's sacrifice by refusing to apply to the merits of 
Immanuel, and by seeking a refuge from the distractions 
of his conscience in the horrors of self-slaughter ? 

In short, though the Scriptures speak of many sins 
against the Holy Ghost, with the exception of blasphemy, 
none of them is declared to be unpardonable. We read 
of lying unto the Holy Ghost; of resisting, of tempting, 
of grieving, and of quenching the Spirit; but however foul 
and offensive, none of them is said to be beyond the reach 
of mercy; and, therefore, we may safely conclude that, 
upon the repentance of the criminal, they may be forgiven. 
Whenever, therefore, either the careless, the wordly, or the 
profligate, on reflecting upon their own state and conduct, 
think that they have reason to believe they have been 
guilty of this unparalleled enormity: or the people of 
God, through the violence of temptation or of mental dis- 
tress, suspect that they have fallen into this depth of Sa- 
tan; your wisdom is, instantly to inquire what is the par- 
ticular sin against the Holy Ghost with which you are 
chargeable. For though you have reason to tremble upon 
account of every sin; yet unless you have been guilty of 
blasphemy, you have no ground to despair. Have you 
lied unto the Holy Ghost? Have you resisted, tempted, 
grieved, or quenched the Spirit? Still, however heinous 



C3 

and dangerous these offences ; however great cause you 
have 6n their account to be humbled in dust and in ashes; 
still, if you have not proceeded unto the more horrid un- 
godliness of blasphemy, you have no reason to abandon 
hope. If after all you repent and apply to the blood of 
sprinkling, these iniquities shall be pardoned, and these 
trespasses blotted out. For the Lord Jesus Christ most 
solemnly assures us, that " all manner of sin and blasphe- 
my shall be forgiven unto men, but the blasphemy against 
the Holy Ghost." And of this sin, one of the first effects 
is blindness of mind and hardness of heart. Whilst there- 
fore you are alarmed about your situation, and solicitous 
for reconciliation with God ; whatever guilt you may have 
contracted, and whatever danger you may have cause to 
dread, your condition is not desperate : for you have not 
sinned the sin unto death. 



CHAPTER IV. 



ON DISTRESS, ARISING FROM THE WANT OF HU- 
MILIATION AND SORROW FOR SIN. 



" Why sinks my weak desponding mind? 
Why heaves my heart the anxious sigh? 
Can sovereign goodness be unkind? 
Am I not safe if God is nigh?" 



We read in scripture of convictions of sin and emotions 
of sorrow preceding faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We 
hear of many, when first brought to the knowledge of the 
truth, who have been filled with fear and shaken with 
dread; who have been laid in darkness and in the lowest 
deeps, where the wrath of God has gone over them, and 
where they have trembled lest in his anger he would cut 
them off. We have heard of some, who have been driven 
to their wit's end, reduced to the most awful extremity of 
perplexity and trouble ; who have been made to drink of 
the cup of the Lord's fury, and undergo all the distrac- 
tions of despondence, and all the horrors of despair. 

Believing that what is the case with one must be the 
case with all, and that this agonizing perturbation and 
overwhelming sadness, are inseparable from the transition 
from a state of nature to a state of grace ; many christians, 
because they never have experienced them, have rashly 
concluded that their religion is delusion, and all their 
hopes false and presumptuous. If they had been previous- 
ly alarmed and agitaled; if God had let loose his hand 
against them ; if he had subjected them to consternation 
and terror, and made them pass through all the gloom 
and anguish of spiritual depression and melancholy; they 




62 

imagine that then they would have had some ground of 
hope, and some cause for regarding themselves as new 
creatures and heirs of heaven. But when they reflect on 
the holiness of God, and the sinfulness of sin, on the dis- 
honour which they have done to his blessed name, and 
the ingratitude which they have shewn to the adorable 
Redeemer; and after all find that their hearts are cold and 
lifeless*, hard and unfeeling; they suspect that they are 
still dead in trespasses and sins. If they were properly 
affected with a sense of their guilt, they think that their 
heads would be waters, and their eyes fountains of tears ; 
and that they would weep day and night for the evils which 
they have wrought, and the punishment which they have 
deserved. When, therefore, they discover such a hum- 
bling disproportion betwixt their sorrows and their sins; 
when they can sleep so soundly; live so securely; and 
feel so little grief and compunction for their iniquities : 
they apprehend that they have no part with the saints, 
and cannot be reckoned in the number of the mourners in 
Zion. 

In order to mitigate and remove the pain which this 
subject occasions, it will be necessary to observe, 

I. That no distress that we can feel, can ever equal the 
number or enormity of our offences. 

Our forgetfulness of God and our disregard for his au- 
thority and rights, may well confound us, and compel us 
to go all our days in the bitterness of our spirits. Those 
sins which opened the world of wo, which brought our Re- 
deemer to the dust of death, and filled his soul with unut- 
terable anguish, may justly break our hearts, and cover us 
with shame and self-abasement. Sins such as these, will 
keep thousands of the gay and thoughtless weeping mil- 
lions of ages hence. And in the mean time they strongly 
call for our deepest humiliation and sorrow. 

But after all, our contrition and tears cannot efface the 
slightest spot of moral pollution. To accomplish this, 
nothing less than the sacrifice of Immanuel is sufficient. 
" Without shedding of blood is no remission." But whilst 
his blood is requisite to remove the stain of the smallest, 



63 

it is able to wash away the guilt of the greatest sin ; and as 
it is to him that you must have recourse at last for the 
pardon of your least offences, your wisdom and your duty 
are to go to him at first for the forgiveness of all your 
transgressions together. 

II. The way to genuine and lasting consolation gene- 
rally lies through the midst of terror and alarm; and a 
work of the law, of a greater or less extent and of a long- 
er or shorter duration, usually precedes believing views of 
the Saviour, and a settled assurance of an interest in his 
salvation. 

In every age, the road to Zion has gone through the 
midst of the thunders and darkness of Sinai. Before we 
are permitted to lie down in green pastures, or feed be- 
side the still waters, we must pass through vallies of Baca 
and fields of solitude and desolation. For, since the sal- 
vation revealed in the Gospel is so utterly opposite to the 
strongest principles and the dearest pursuits of the carnal 
mind; till, by the denunciations of the law and the rigid 
demands of justice, the sinner is shut completely up unto 
the faith; how is it credible, how is it possible, that he will 
submit to the righteousness of Christ, and count all things 
but loss for his sake ? It is no ordinary political tempest 
which will drive a proud imperious monarch from his throne ; 
compel him to lay aside the robes of state, the pomp of royal- 
ty, and the indulgence of power ; and descend to all the ob- 
scurity and privacy of a humble station. It is no common 
war of elements which will urge the beasts of prey to quit 
their native haunts, and seek shelter and protection in the 
habitations of men. And can we suppose that it is any 
moderate moral movement, any ordinary convulsion of 
the mind, that will induce an empty self-righteous, self- 
sufficient sinner to renounce all dependence upon his own 
wisdom and worth; to abandon his favorite habits and 
fondest pursuits; and with the feelings and language of a 
criminal, self-condemned and deserving to perish, to cast 
himself at the feet of the Saviour, saying, "In the Lord 
alone have I righteousness and strength?" Is it a crisis 
of every day's occurrence, which will constrain him to 



64 

withdraw his affections from the world and sin, and fix them 
supremely and intensely on God, and heaven, and things 
divine and eternal? to cleave to the Saviour with full pur- 
pose of heart? to surrender himself to him entirely, and 
labour to magnify him in his body and spirit which are 
his? 

The power that is able to accomplish all this must be 
indeed - divine : and can we believe that the man, who 
is the subject of this astonishing transformation, can be 
insensible of its existence, or a cool and passive observer 
of its progress? When told that strait is the gate, and 
narrow is the way that leadeth unto life ; and that they 
must strive who enter thereat; when told that the king- 
dom of heaven suffereth violence, and that the violent 
take it by force ; can we imagine that a man can uncon- 
sciously make a forcible entrance by the narrow gate; 
or carry, without a contest, the kingdom of heaven by 
storm? 

In every other instance where human happiness is at 
stake, no great nor permanent advantage can be secured, 
without being previously desired and vigorously pursued; 
and does a different law prevail in the regions of religion ? 
It is only by well-concerted, earnest, toilsome application, 
that the evils of poverty, ignorance, and vice can be avoid- 
ed, arid the blessings of wealth, learning, and virtue can 
be obtained. And is the mightiest acquisition, that ever 
was submitted to the ambition of mortals ; the acquisition, 
which demands and deserves the utmost exercise of reso- 
lute persevering energy; the acquisition which, from 
slaves of Satan, converts us into sons of God ; which from 
the ranks of rebellion, and from being victims of divine 
vengeance, transfers us to the protection of the Almighty, 
and places us in the possession of all the fruits of his 
friendship; which, from being doomed to all the wretched- 
ness of never-ending ruin, makes us heirs of heaven, and 
entails an eternity of blessedness and glory: can this 
acquisition be reached without design, or secured without 
a firm and determined effort? In other cases, where dif- 
ficulties beset our path, and rivals retard, or enemies op- 
pose our progress; it is only by repeated and sustained 



65 

exertions that we can get forward, and we are perfectly 
aware of every step that we take and of every advance- 
ment that we gain. But in the conversion of the soul, 
where the obstacles are the most numerous and formida- 
ble, where our foes are the most cunning and malignant, 
and where our aversion to encounter them is the most 
strong and obstinate ; is it possible that we can surmount 
the whole without a struggle, and stand out at last in all 
the safety of success, and in all the elevation of victory, 
without once discovering the perils with which we were 
surrounded, or the toils and conflicts in which we were 
engaged? 

This view of the subject is confirmed by the represen- 
tations of Scripture. We are there told that the law is 
our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ; that we must 
pass under the rod before we can be brought within 
the bond of the covenant; and that we must be sub- 
jected to the spirit of bondage, before we can be blessed 
with the Spirit of adoption, Christ tells us that he came 
to seek and to save that which was lost ; not to call the 
righteous, but sinners to repentance. And though the 
calls and invitations of the Gospel are addressed indis- 
criminately to all, and none who apply are excluded from 
their rich and invaluable provisions; still, from the manner 
in which they are expressed, it is evident that none will 
accept them but those who are convinced of their guilt 
and wretchedness, and have a strong and penetrating sense 
of their own absolute need of an interest in the righteous- 
ness of the Redeemer. It is thus that we are informed 
that they who are whole need not a physician, but they 
who are sick. It is thus that we are assured that Jesus 
was anointed to preach good tidings unto the meek; that 
he was sent to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim 
liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to 
them that are bound. It is thus that we observe him di- 
recting the most precious messages of his grace to those 
that are athirst, and to the labouring and heavy laden. It 
is thus that we hear him pronouncing blessings upon the 
poor in spirit, and upon them that mourn ; and that we 
6* 



66 

find him filling the hungry with good things, and sending 
the rich empty away. 

From this and similar language, what other inference 
can we draw, than that, though no preparatory exercise of 
ours can either recommend us to the Saviour or augment 
the value of his infinite and all-sufficient righteousness ; 
he must be endeared to our hearts by a work of the law 
before we will embrace him as all our solvation and all our 
desire ; and that we must be convinced of our deep de- 
pravity and utter helplessness, be stripped of all our vain 
and self-righteous pleas, and driven from every refuge of 
lies, before we can knofw the value of his salvation, and 
be willing to remain eternal debtors to free, rich, sover- 
eign mercy for all our happiness and hopes? 

With whatever ridicule and scorn some may treat the 
contrition, the self-abasement, the alarm, and the fear of 
an awakened soul, as savouring of Mount Sinai, and ut- 
terly inconsistent with the liberal and gracious spirit of 
the Gospel ; the fact is, that many who, both by them- 
selves and the world, are regarded as very good christians, 
arrive at their peace and comfort far too soon. They no 
sooner hear of the necessity of redemption through the 
blood of Christ ; than without embracing the offers of the 
atonement, they imagine that they are redeemed by his 
blood. They no sooner hear of the blessedness of those 
who are delivered out of spiritual darkness ; than without 
taking one step to escape from the territories of Satan, they 
fancy that they are translated into Christ's marvellous light. 
They no sooner admit the necessity of running the chris- 
tian race, and of fighting the good fight of faith; than 
without advancing an inch, or striking a blow, they sup- 
pose that they have finished their course and are entitled 
to the prize. Without quitting the dominions of the 
prince of darkness, or undergoing that renovation of na- 
ture, which every individual must experience before he 
can enter the kingdom of heaven; because they h?~,e ac- 
quired a knowledge of the doctrines, or assumed a profes- 
sion of the truths of Christianity, they appropriate to them- 
selves the promises and privileges peculiar to the sons of 
God. Instead of rasing the crazy and rotten foundation. 



G7 

they proceed to rear the walls of the new superstructure 
upon the ruins of the former. Instead of putting off the 
old man with his deeds, they endeavour to put on the 
new man above it: and instead of laying aside every 
weight, and the sin which most easily besets them, and 
renouncing all for the excellency of the knowledge of 
Christ Jesus ; they strive to retain their vices and corrup- 
tions, and to carry the whole along with them to heaven, 
and to plant them amidst the purity and bliss of paradise. 

And what are the consequences of this preposterous 
and criminal conduct? Mistaking the shadow for the 
substance, the poor infatuated creatures believe that all is 
safe, and raise the lulling cry of Peace, peace, when they 
are in the gall of bitterness and bond of iniquity. If their 
previous state was bad, their succeeding condition fre- 
quently becomes worse. Having adopted a form of god- 
liness, they flatter themselves that they have also secured 
its power: and every attempt to undeceive them, only ex- 
cites their indignation and makes them cleave more tena- 
ciously to their ruinous delusion. 

If it is dangerous to have goods in your possession for 
which you cannot account; that religion is exceedingly 
suspicious, whose origin and progress you are unable to 
trace and explain. 

Whilst, however, we are thus obliged to affirm that 
some distress of mind, some affliction of soul, some work 
of the law, in the case of every adult, must precede a cor- 
dial reception of the Gospel ; we must on the other hand 
affirm, 

III. That there is no particular measure prescribed in 
Scripture, either for the degree, or the duration of legal 
distress and terror. 

Throughout all the works of God amidst a general re- 
semblance, an endless variety reigns amongst the individ- 
uals of the same species. Though all are fair and odorif- 
erous, the form and fragrance of one rose are distinct from 
those of another: and though every star is brilliant, one 
star differs from another star in glory. Nor is there a less 
admirable diversity in the mode of his operating, than in 



68 

the results which he accomplishes. He formed the light 
In an instant, but the bodies of Adam and Eve in suc- 
cession and slowly. In a moment and by the word of his 
power, Jesus restored Lazarus to life : but in opening the 
eyes of the blind, he again and again employed external 
applications, and spent a portion of time in performing 
the cure. 

The new creation is the work of the same ever-blessed 
Author, and displays similar signatures of manifold wis- 
dom and almighty power. The effects of regeneration 
are always in substance the same: but still there is no 
absolute uniformity either in them, or in the process by 
which they are produced. The standard, after which the 
christian character is formed, is perfect, fixed, and per- 
manent. This is the unchangeable image of the Lord Jesus 
Christ. But whilst in their leading and discriminating 
features, believers possess a strong and striking similarity 
to their odorable Master; and from their likeness to him 
bear a visible resemblance to each other, still we can dis- 
cern a manifest diversity among them : and on comparing 
their experience together, they frequently discover a great 
variety, both in the amount of their spiritual attainments, 
and in the manner in which they were brought to the 
knowledge and enjoyment of the Gospel. 

Some have undergone deep distress. They have suf- 
fered the terrors of the Lord, and been distracted. He 
has met them as an armed man, and rent their hearts asun- 
der. He has rushed upon them as the wide breaking in 
of waters, and covered them with all his waves. The 
sorrows of death have compassed them, and the pains of 
hell have gotten hold upon them : they have found trouble 
and sorrow. And from the scenes of suffering and an- 
guish through which they have passed, they could almost, 
as easily ascertain their gracious relation to God, as from 
the state of liberty and rest into which they have been in- 
troduced. Others have endured little spiritual trouble. 
Their passage from darkness to light has been so free 
from perturbation and terror, that they have been unable 
to tell either the time or the manner in which they were 
effectually called by grace. They perhaps have been 



69 

sanctified from their infancy: or such a rich blessing has 
accompanied their early religious education, that they 
have been gradually and gently carried through the differ- 
ent stages of conversion, and savingly united to Christ, be- 
fore they were sensible of the momentous fact. Such 
seems to have been the case with Jeremiah, the Baptist, 
and Timothy. 

The duration, likewise, of this mental trouble, is as 
different as its degrees. Paul was blind three days : and 
during that period was probably subjected to a severe in- 
ternal conflict. But Lydia appears no sooner to have 
heard the word, than to have had her heart opened, and 
to have been blessed with peace and joy in believing. 
Whilst some for years have groaned under the spirit of 
bondage; the jailor and the hearers of Peter, by a single 
sermon, were convinced of guilt, filled with grief and fear 
for their transgressions, and enabled to receive the word 
with gladness, and to rejoice in the Lord. Whilst He- 
man was afflicted and ready to die from his youth up; 
on the same day that grace first took possession of his 
heart, the soul of the penitent thief was admitted into pa- 
radise ! 

Since, therefore, there is such a diversity both in the 
depth and in the duration of religious distress ; instead of 
afflicting yourselves about any deficiency in your convic- 
tions and contrition, your wisdom is to secure the great 
object which they are intended to produce, submission to 
the righteousness of Christ. This duty is rendered the 
more indispensable from the following facts. Hypocrites 
have frequently counterfeited religious alarm and dejec- 
tion. And whilst some of the people of God have expe- 
rienced little gloom or despondence; many of the unre- 
generate, at the very time that they were in the gall of 
bitterness and bond of iniquity, from the accusations of 
conscience or the judgments of the Lord, without at- 
tempting to imitate them, and even in spite of all their 
efforts to suppress them; have been compelled to sustain 
the most distracting and overwhelming remorse and hor- 
ror. Such was the case with Cain; with Saul; with Ju- 
das; and with that generation of vipers, who, under 



70 

the ministry of the Baptist, seemed to be fleeing from the 
wrath to come. 

Finding, therefore, that some who are strangers to the 
grace of God have felt a great amount of dread and sor- 
row, and that many of his children have been compara- 
tively free from perplexity and terror; we are obliged to 
conclude that our religious condition must be determined 
by something more substantial and solid than the intensi- 
ty or continuance of our convictions and fears : some- 
thing which no unregenerate man ever felt, and which no 
hypocrite can counterfeit. 

Besides, it deserves to be remembered, that, though 
none will submit to the righteousness of Christ till driven 
out of their own refuge of lies, the painful and long-con- 
tinued distress which several have undergone, has arisen 
from some peculiarity in their own situation and charac- 
ter. Some have been pre-eminent in iniquity : and God, 
in his holy sovereignty, is pleased to make them feel what 
an evil and bitter thing it is, by giving them some drops 
of that cup of wrath, which in the days of their rebellion 
they had been madly employed in mingling. And others 
perhaps are subjected to extraordinary solicitude and suf- 
fering, because he intends afterwards to fill them with 
extraordinary consolation ; or to qualify them for uncom- 
mon usefulness; by fitting them to counsel, encourage, 
and comfort others in similar trouble, with the consola- 
tions wherewith they themselves have been comforted of 
God. 

If your grief has not been so pungent and oppressive 
as that of others ; after all, it may be as sincere and sanc- 
tifying. It may have as effectually emptied you of your 
self-righteousness and pride, and conducted you with 
the same humble faith and lively gratitude to the Divine 
and adorable Redeemer. The sorrows, which in their 
case were concentrated within a few weeks or days, in 
yours may be spread over the whole extent of your pil- 
grimage. A small spring, in the lapse of time, will dis- 
charge more water, than the largest reservoir in the 
course of a single day. And the man, *whose whole life 
is one unbroken humble tender walk with God ; in his 



71 

period of threescore and' ten, may experience as much 
genuine contrition and self-abasement, as his brother, 
whose griefs and fears were more violent and intolerable, 
but confined to the commencement of his religious ca- 
reer. 

In Scripture, accordingly, many exhortations are given 
to examine ourselves by the principles which we entertain,, 
and by the habits which we have formed : but in vain shall 
we search all that sacred volume for a single injunction to 
inquire by what process our spiritual views and religious 
practices were adopted. The tree is known, not by the 
time or manner in which it was planted or cultivated, but 
by its fruits. And our state before God is to be deter- 
mined, not by our former feelings and emotions, but by 
our present conduct and dispositions. The most tremen- 
dous threatenings are denounced against those who lay 
claim to the privileges of Christians, while destitute of 
the works of faith and the labours of love. But the voice 
of terror is never lifted up against any, who, by the purity 
of their faith and the ardour of their piety, give decisive 
evidence of the reality of their religion, merely because 
they have acquired it too easily or too speedily, and have 
not travelled through a sufficient length or depth of pre- 
paratory darkness and distress. Their w T orks are re- 
garded as sufficient evidences of their faith; but no 
strength of confidence, nor any degree of alarm and sor- 
row, can ever supersede the necessity of trying our faith 
by its effects. 

If, therefore, your faith has purified your heart, and is 
working by love; reject not the rich consolations which 
the Gospel sets before you, because you have not been 
compelled to bear the same long and exhausting sorrows 
which others have endured. Dare you limit the Holy 
One of Israel ? Can you tell how quickly and how ea- 
sily, that God, who in the beginning spake and it was 
done, who commanded and all things stood fast; and 
who, in a moment and in the twinkling of an eye, shall 
raise the dead and change the bodies of the living saints 
into the likeness of the glorious body of our Lord : can 
you tell how quickly and easily he is able to form your souls 



72 

anew, and translate you from the guilt and condemnation 
of nature, into the peace, the purity, the liberty, and the 
enjoyments of grace? 

Having thus seen that the Scriptures prescribe no measure 
for either the degree or duration of spiritual trouble, and 
that it is fallacious to attempt to judge of our religious 
state by our preparatory distress and fear; it must be 
observed that these remarks are confirmed by remem- 
bering 

IV. That the great design of these convictions and 
alarms is to unite the soul to Jesus; and to lead it to 
rely, for acceptance in the sight of God, simply on his 
righteousness. 

It is in union with him that all our safety lies. "He 
that hath the Son hath life." However speedily and 
with whatever ease this union is attained, the salvation 
of him who enjoys it is secured. He shall never perish 
nor come into condemnation, but shall have everlasting 
life. But without this union, no terrors nor convictions, 
however penetrating and lasting, can ever advance us 
one inch on the road to heaven. " He that hath not the 
Son of God hath not life." The wrath of God abideth 
on him. And since we cannot be saved by our humilia- 
tion and contrition, it is manifest that the value of these 
depends, not upon their intensity and duration, but up- 
on their nature and tendency. The most humble and 
broken-hearted penitent that ever entered the world of 
glory, never had any more compunction and contrition, 
than what convinced him of his depravity and worthless- 
ness; imbittered sin to his soul and filled him with 
shame and self-abhorrence for the abominations of his 
heart and the evils of his life ; discovered his utter help- 
lessness and ruin; drove him out of every refuge of lies 
and shut him up unto the faith; brought him to the Sa- 
viour and led him cordially thankfully to embrace the 
provisions of his free and gracious salvation; and inspired 
him with love to the Redeemer and devotedness to his 
interest and honour. And while no penitent ever had 
more humiliation and compunction than this; no saint 



73 

ever gained admission into the climes of bliss, who was 
possessed of less. 

Instead, therefore, of perplexing and vexing yourselves 
about the amount or continuance of your previous alarm 
and trouble, your wisdom is to inquire into the effects 
which they have produced. What are the present leading 
and predominant desires of your souls? Have your con- 
cern and fear made you repent and abhor yourselves in 
dust and ashes? Have they constrained you to regard 
yourselves as the chief of sinners, and utterly unworthy 
to lift up your eyes to the habitation of the Divine glory? 
Have they forced you to ask what you must do to be sa- 
ved, and led you to embrace Jesus as all your salvation 
and all your desire ? Have they endeared him to your 
souls, and made you account all things but loss for his 
sake ? Do you rely on him for righteousness and strength, 
and cleave to him with full purpose of heart? Is sin your 
burden and aversion? Do you shun all appearance of 
evil, and hate every wicked and false way? Are you 
crucifying the flesh with all its affections, and longing to 
be completely delivered from the body of sin and death? 
Do you esteem the commandments of God concerning all 
things to be right, and study at all times to walk so as to 
please him? Have you consecrated to him your time and 
your talents, and are you labouring to glorify him in your 
body and spirit which are his ? Do you delight in his or- 
dinances, and prefer his favour to your chief joy? Can 
you appeal to himself; and, in sincerity say, "Whom have 
I in heaven but thee, and there is none upon earth that I 
desire besides thee?"" 

If your consciences bear you witness in the Holy Ghost, 
that this is your state : than, notwithstanding all your 
doubts and fears respecting your want of brokenness of 
heart and humiliation of soul, this is a proof that you have 
passed from death unto life, and are. made partakers of 
the good word of God and of the powers of the world to 
come. A larger measure of sorrow and self-abasement 
than this, none of the children of God ever carried along 
with them into the regions of endless light. And if you 
7 



74 

are possessed of this, you are in a state of grace : and a sta- 
tion there is next step to the kingdom of glory. 

But if your compunction and contrition have not pro- 
duced the effects which have just now heen described, 
you are still without God and without hope. If you have 
not renounced all reliance on your own righteousness, 
and abandoned the love of every sin; if you are not rest- 
ing on' the righteousness of Christ for the acceptance of 
your persons, and living to the praise of his name: though 
you should have experienced all the remorse of Judas 
and all the horrors of hell, you have no part in the salva- 
tion of the Gospel. Whatever grief or fear he feels or 
affects for his past delinquencies, can you persuade me 
that that miscreant has become honest, who, at the very 
moment that he is imploring my forgiveness for a former 
depredation, has again gotten his hand into my pocket, 
and laid hold of my watch or my purse ? The labours and 
and sufferings of Paul for the name of Jesus, demonstrated 
the soundness of his conversion. But if, after appearing 
in the congregation at Damascus; if, after rehearsing 
the marvellous events that had occurred on his journey, 
and assuring the brethren that he was become a disciple : 
who could have believed a word of his tale; if after all 
this he had gone to the rulers of the synagogue, produced 
the letters of the high priest and elders ; and, taking ad- 
vantage of his presence in the assembly of the faithful, had 
tendered a list of the names of those whom he had wit- 
nessed there, that they might be dragged to prison and 
to death? And when we know that in religion the Lord 
Jesus Christ is all in all, and that every man who has any 
religion whatever, relies upon him simply for righteous- 
ness and strength, yields himself to him entirely and lives 
to him alone: how can we believe in the soundness of 
your convictions, or the salutary nature of your fears and 
sorrows, if they have left you under the influence of any 
corrupt principle, or strangers to the purifying and trans- 
forming power of the grace of the Redeemer? They 
have missed the grand object and only profitable end of 
religious solicitude and trouble, which are union to Christ, 
and submission to the Gospel scheme of salvation. 



75 

But if you have fled for refuge to lay hold on the hope 
set before you ; if you are renewed in the spirit of your 
mind, and cleaving to Jesus with full purpose of heart: 
then, in whatever manner you may have been brought 
into this blessed state; whether it was suddenly or slowly, 
whether it was with deep and long-continued distress or 
with little uneasiness and trouble; still the state itself is 
on a level far above the reach of nature, and such as no- 
thing less than the agency of the Holy Ghost can pro- 
duce. And when thus possessed of the seal of the Eter- 
nal Spirit, why should you harass yourselves, because you 
are unable to ascertain the date, or describe the mode 
of his gracious operations? Show me a tree, cloth- 
ed with foliage and bending beneath its load of grateful 
fruit: and though ignorant of the time when it was plant- 
ed and of the manner in which it was cultivated, I can be 
at no loss to pronounce upon its healthy and thriving 
state. And show me a man who loves the Saviour with 
his whole heart, who is labouring to perfect holiness in 
the fear of God, who is abounding in the fruits of right- 
eousness, and who is grieved and humbled because he 
feels so little of the power of religion and enjoys so few 
of the consolations of the Gospel ; and, in whatever way 
he may have acquired these desires and views, whether it 
was with ease or difficulty; whether he was carried past 
the gates of heaven, or through the suburbs of hell; I can 
then show you a man who is born from above, and placed 
within the bond of the everlasting covenant of God. He 
has reached the city of refuge. He is fixed on the rock 
of ages. He is lodged within the tower of salvation. 
Humiliation and contrition have in his case gained their 
blessed and glorious object. They have driven him from 
the levity, recklessness, and self-righteousness of a natu- 
ral condition, to the seriousness, the though tfulness, the 
faith, the love, the dependence and obedience which the 
Gospel enjoins and grace inspires. 

If this is your situation, all is well. The guardians of 
corporate rights; however well qualified for the station 
that you occupy, or the office that you fill; will scowl on 
you as an intruder, and unceremoniously thrust you out, 



76 

if you have not approached it along the chartered avenue, 
and through the medium of legal forms and observances. 
But the God of heaven never sacrifices the substance to 
the form. The grand design and ultimate use of alarm 
and terror are to shut us up unto the faith, and constrain 
us to embrace the provisions of his mercy. It is in union 
with Jesus that our salvation consists. And whenever 
this union is obtained, and by whatever means it may be 
secured, our eternity is safe. 

So far from rejecting you because you have not been 
sufficiently humbled and afflicted for your sins, it must 
be added, 

V. That no soul can ever apply too soon nor too con- 
fidently to the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. 

In an alarming malady no patient can ever send too 
early for a physician. Indeed, till once he is aware of his 
situation, he will entertain no desire for medical advice. 
But the pain and languor induced by his complaint con- 
tribute nothing to the restoration of his health, nor to the 
efficacy of the practitioner's prescriptions. The ravages 
of disease spread more widely through his frame, and in- 
crease his sufferings and dangers with every moment's 
delay : and convince him at last, that it would have been 
well for him if he had called for the physician at first. 

We never can repair too soon, nor submit too absolutely 
to the adorable Redeemer. He is the way, the truth, 
and the life. He is the end of the law for righteousness 
unto every one that believeth : neither is there salvation 
in any other. Our acceptance with God does not, in the 
slightest degree, depend upon the depth of our humilia- 
tion, the pungency of our sorrow, nor the duration of our 
agitation, solicitude, and terror. The convictions of sin, 
the remorse of conscience, and the most distressing pre- 
paratory exercises through which any are called to pass, 
are necessary merely to shew us our need of Christ, and 
render us willing to rest upon his atonement. They rouse 
our drowsy powers to consideration, and break the way- 
wardness and stubbornness of our spirits. They strip us 
of the pride, the vanity, the~ carnality, and self-righteous- 



77 

ness natural to our minds; that, when thus emptied of all 
that would repel his grace and oppose the humbling and 
holy tendency of the gospel, he may become precious to 
our hearts, and we may cleave to him as all our salvation 
and all our desire. But they form no part of our redemp- 
tion. They establish no claim to the Divine favour. 
They cannot awaken the attention, nor attract the sympa- 
thy of the Redeemer. They cannot recommend us to his 
notice, nor enable him to save us with greater facility or 
speed. He can save us at any time and in any circum- 
stances. Whether we are young or old, newly awakenep 
or have been long depressed with the spirit of fear • if we 
will only receive him, he can instantly and completely 
save us. His power is almighty, and his blood cleanseth 
from all sin. His own language is, " Look unto me and 
be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: come unto me, all 
ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you 
rest: if any man thirst, let him come to me and drink." 

And do you ask when are you to look to him? to be- 
lieve on him, and to go to him? Tell me, When is the 
wicked to forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his 
thoughts? When is the patient to apply for a cure? or 
the inmate to quit his blazing crumbling tenement ? And 
then I will tell you when you are to flee from the wrath 
to come, to go to the adorable Redeemer, and accept his 
all-sufficient salvation. Is it after you have toiled for 
years at the task of humiliation and self-denial? after you 
have walked a certain round of preparatory duties, and 
acquired a certain amount of religious attainments and 
qualifications? after you have melted your hearts into a 
desirable state of penitence, or steeped them for a becom- 
ing time in the sorrows of self-abasement and contrition? 
No : you are to go to him immediately, you are to believe 
on him this day, this hour, this instant. He himself says, 
" To-day if ye will hear my voice, harden not your hearts; 
turn ye to your strong-hold, ye prisoners of hope, for even 
to-day do I declare unto you, I will render double for all 
your sins." Can the ignorant ever obtain knowledge too 
rapidly ? Can the transgressor ever cease too hastily to do 

evil, or learn too soon to do well? Can our fractured 

7* 



78 

bones be reduced too speedily? Can the shipwrecked 
mariner be rescued too expeditiously from the horrors of 
the devouring deep? And can you ever be delivered too 
quickly from what constitutes the disgrace, the plague, 
and ruin of your souls; or be translated with too great 
despatch into the health-inspiring and bliss-creating liber- 
ty of the sons of God. 

If salvation is what you really want ; if you are ashamed 
and confounded for the iniquities which you have wrought; 
and astonished and abashed for the remaining insensibili- 
ty of your spirits and hardness of your hearts ; go to Jesus 
directly and submit to him now. You are not allowed a 
moment's delay. No man has a warrant for one instant 
to indulge in pride, envy, malice, covetousness, or murder* 
And what right have you, for a single second, to keep 
back your hearts from God, to trifle with the great salva- 
tion, and refuse the blood-bought atonement of the cross? 
While you are hesitating, eternity is rushing on : and what 
will become of your immortal spirits, if the gates of bliss 
are closed while you are standing in the porch of prepa- 
ration, and have not stepped in to reconciliation with God 
and union with his Son? 

The shortest indecision may undo you forever. Christ 
invites you now; and has pledged his word for the imme- 
diate acceptance of all who have recourse to his mercy. 
Time cannot increase his truth, nor give any addition to 
his tenderness. Your authority for believing on him is as 
great as it can be on your dying day: and salvation, with 
all its blessings, is just as free and attainable now, as you 
can suppose it to be even then. Could you live forages, 
and spend every intervening hour in tears, lamentations, 
and prayers ; after all, you could not then be more welcome 
to his arms, than you are at this moment. Even then, if 
saved at all, you must be saved by grace : and he is able 
and willing to save you by grace this day. 

Be persuaded then to go to him instantly, and to believe 
on him immediately. Can you ever be too soon safe and 
happy? Can you ever be too soon reconciled unto God, 
and accepted in the Beloved ? 

Are you afraid that you shall obtain salvation with too 



79 

great facility? Does it diminish the value of health, of 
liberty, of learning, or of fortune; that they have been ac- 
quired with little fatigue and trouble, with little suffering 
and solicitude? And can it lower the riches of redeem- 
ing mercy or the worth of eternal glory, that these immense 
and inestimable blessings have been gained with too great 
readiness and ease? 

Salvation is the gift of grace. Could you wait in 
trembling anxiety and painful expectation till the blast of 
the last trumpet; if even then you would receive it, you 
must receive it as a free gift. As such it is proposed to 
you now. The God of truth this day declares, Whoso- 
ever will, let him take of the water of life freely. Amidst 
the convulsions and the crash of a dissolving universe, 
Omnipotence cannot render the gift of salvation more 
gratuitous than it is at this passing moment. 

If therefore you desire to be saved in the Lord with an 
everlasting salvation, take encouragement and come to 
him instantly. Wait for no additional preparation. 

" Come needy, come guilty, 
Come loathsome and bare: 
You can't come too filthy, 
Come just as you are." 

It is a blessed thing to be humble and broken-hearted : 
but it is unspeakably dangerous to rely on our humility 
and contrition. Take care lest, by rejecting the free and 
gracious offers of the gospel, on the ground that you are 
not sufficiently affected with a sense of your sins; you 
make an idol of your convictions and sorrows, and either 
place them beside the righteousness of Christ, or substi- 
tute them in its room. The heart is deceitful, and ever 
ready to introduce some ground of self-dependence. 
Many long for greater humiliation, not to make them more 
sensible of their need of Christ, but to entitle them to his 
favour, and to render them less indebted to his mercy. 
Maintain a vigilant watch against this alluring, but ruinous 
delusion. For if you neglect the Saviour and lose an in- 
terest in his salvation ; what does it signify whether this is 
the consequence of a love of iniquity, or of a legal and 



80 



preposterous search after better qualifications to recom- 
mend you to the acceptance of that Saviour, who tells us 
that he came not to call the righteous, but sinners to 
repentance? 



CHAPTER V. 

ON DISTRESS ARISING FROM THE WEAKNESS 
OR WANT OF FAITH. 



" O for a heart to trust the Lord, 
Who bids our sorrows cease! 
For faith, to claim that gracious word 
Mourner, cease thy tears." 



Faith enters so essentially into the substance of reli- 
gion, that without it we cannot be christians at all. It is 
from the habitual use that he is required to make of this 
principle, that the christian receives the name of a believ- 
er, or a man of faith. He walks by faith; he lives by 
faith; he works by faith; he prays in faith; he suffers in 
faith; and, when the solemn day of his departure from 
time to eternity arrives, he dies in faith. 

Nothing contributes so much to the happiness and ho- 
liness of the christian as a strong and lively faith ; and 
nothing is more painful and discouraging than its feeble- 
ness and languor. Many of the children of God spend 
their days in sighing and their years in grief, from an ap- 
prehension that their faith is too weak to be genuine, and 
mixed with too much timidity and doubt to be either salu- 
tary or acceptable. They read of others who have been 
strong in faith ; who have been able to hope against hope ; 
and to declare, even amidst the most alarming and deso- 
lating dispensations, that though God should slay them 
yet they would trust in him. But the least trial is suffi- 
cient to shake their fortitude and blast their joys. A 
disappointment in their worldly prospects, or a slight dis- 
tress in their families or amongst their friends, discon- 



82 

certs and embarrasses them. The continuance of a 
temptation, the withholding of an answer to their prayers, 
the want of expected and implored communion with God, 
the loss of a relative, or the apparent approach of their 
own dissolution, covers their countenance with sadness, 
and fills their hearts with consternation and terror. They 
imagine that this would not be the case if they were root- 
ed and grounded in the truth. They suppose that if they 
were possessed of a proper degree of faith in the Son of 
man, it would expel every slavish and distressing fear; 
that it would keep them in perfect peace; that it would 
make them strong in the Lord and in the power of his 
might; and inspire them with constant serenity and heart- 
elevating joy. 

In endeavouring to minister to the encouragement and 
comfort of persons who are labouring under this distress, 
it is necessary to observe; that, though it is the duty of 
every christian to grow in grace, and to be strong in faith; 
the weakness, or supposed want of faith, is no conclusive 
proof of its absence; and complaints and fears on the 
subject, so far from being an unfavourable symptom, are 
in fact a token for good. The ruin of most men is, that 
they feel no solicitude about the matter. Without the 
slightest inquiry into the origin or nature of their religion, 
they take it for granted that their faith must be real, be- 
cause they entertain no doubt of the truth of Christianity 
in general ; and fancy that their state must be safe, be- 
cause they are free from all apprehension about its issue. 
In spite of every remonstrance to examine and prove them- 
selves, they go on with the lulling and fallacious cry of 
Peace, peace; at the very time when every thing in their 
spirit and practice gives sad reason to suspect that they 
are under sentence of condemnation, and far from God 
and hope. 

Complaints, therefore, of the weakness or want of faith, 
are pleasing and encouraging circumstances. Thev prove 
that the man is concerned about the one thing needful, 
and indicate that he is possessed of some good thing to- 
wards the Lord God of Israel. I do not blame my friend 
for the want of attachment, who is daily affording me in- 



83 

dubitable proofs of his affection, and after all is deeply 
sorry that he cannot give me more substantial marks of 
his regard. It is that man's friendship which I question, 
who has the opportunity and means of effectually serving 
me, but who treats my wishes and interests with cold ne- 
glect. And I have no fear of the faith and the religious 
affection of the man, whatever depression he may feel, 
who is uniformly and earnestly labouring to walk before 
God with an humble and perfect heart, and to abound in 
all the fruits of righteousness. But I tremble for that 
man's situation, who is full of hope, whilst his temper and 
conduct are betraying a sad inconsistency with the prin- 
ciples of genuine godliness, and who discovers no con- 
trition for the evils he has done, nor any steady determin- 
ed effort to avoid them. 

When a man is grieved on account of the strength of 
his fears and the weakness of his faith • when he is asham- 
ed and confounded because he cannot rely more firmly 
on the word of God, nor bear his trials with greater forti- 
tude and patience, nor delight in the Lord more fully, nor 
serve him with greater cheerfulness and vigour: in all 
these cases we have reason to regard his complaints as 
things that accompany salvation. 

In order to provide for the consolation and establish- 
ment of persons in these circumstances, we shall shew, 

I. That many involve themselves in perplexity and 
trouble, from mistaking the nature of faith and the foun- 
dation of religious comfort. 

II. That faith, though weak, may be real and saving. 
We shall then, 

III. Give some directions to those who are weak in 
faith. 

I. Many involve themselves in perplexity and trouble, 
from mistaking the nature of faith and the proper founda- 
tion of religious comfort. 

Whatever definition may be given of faith: whether it 
is said to be a belief of the truth, or a trusting in Christ 
for the forgiveness of sin and the acceptance of our per 



84 

sons with God ; we find that it is a grace which is uniform- 
ly, supremely, immutably exercised upon the Lord Jesus 
Christ. To a believer Christ is all in all. To him Christ 
is wisdom, righteousness, and strength. Jesus is the 
foundation of his hope, and the source of his joys. With- 
out him the Christian is nothing, can do nothing, and pos- 
sesses nothing. But in Christ he is complete. With 
him he is safe and happy : he has all and abounds. By 
the illustrious men who composed the Catechism of the 
National Church of Scotland, faith has been most justly de- 
clared to be "a saving grace, whereby we receive and rest 
upon Christ alone for salvation, as he is offered to us in 
the Gospel." The man who, despairing of Justification 
through any exertions of his own, is led, from the testi- 
mony which God has given concerning his Son, to rely 
on him alone for righteousness and strength, to prefer 
him to his chief joy, and to count all things but loss for 
his sake ; however feeble his talents, or low his attain- 
ments ; however limited his progress in godliness, or his 
success in good works; however small the amount of his 
consolations, or faint the grasp with which he clings to 
the anchor of hope ; that man is a believer and an heir of 
everlasting life. 

But instead of regarding faith as the soul's receiving 
and resting upon Christ, and drawing all their comfort 
from their interest in his righteousness and grace; many 
deprive themselves of the peace which they might possess, 

1. By imagining that faith is somehow connected with 
great mental powers, and that one of the best sources of 
religious happiness consists in eminent accomplishments. 

If a man preach with ability, pray with fluency and 
seeming fervour, and converse on religious topics with 
propriety and eloquence; they fancy that he is possessed 
of uncommon spiritual attainments, and greatly beloved 
of God : and because they neither enjoy the same apparent 
elevation of mind, nor the same liberty and enlargement of 
soul, they immediately conclude that they are destitute of 
the life and power of godliness. 

But though great tal-nf s, when sanctified by grace, and 
consecrated to the service of God, are invaluable; grace 



85 

and gifts, faith and natural abilities, are totally distinct. 
Great gifts no more impart grace nor insure salvation, than 
grace confers the gift of prophecy or the power of working 
miracles. It is probable that Judas did not come behind 
the Apostles in any gift : and none ever displayed greater 
zeal than the Pharisees. 

Remember, however, that it is not he that preaches 
well, that converses eloquently, that prays powerfully; 
but he that believeth, that shall be saved. In estimating 
the amount of your religion, look less at the number or 
variety of your gifts, than at the simplicity of heart with 
which you rely on the atonement of Immanuel, and the 
purity and ardour of that affection with which you submit 
to his will, and cleave to his service. 

2. Some involve themselves in distress from mistaking 
the fruits and effects of faith, for faith itself. 

There are some things, such as love, humility, self-de- 
nial, and obedience to the Divine will; which enter so 
completely into the very essence of religion, that without 
them it is impossible to lay any valid claim to the chris- 
tian character, or entertain any well-grounded hope of 
seeing the face of God in mercy. But there are other 
principles, such as peace, hope, and joy; which, though 
closely connected with the believer's comfort, and highly 
conducive to his spiritual improvement, are neither essen- 
tial to the nature of faith nor inseparable from a state of 
grace. We are told that if any man love not the Lord Je- 
sus Christ he shall be accursed ; and that, except a man 
be born again, he cannot enter the kingdom of God : but 
throughout the whole compass of the sacred volume, it is 
never once asserted nor insinuated that, if any be without 
spiritual liberty, or peace, or joy, he shall not see the Lord. 

If therefore you are possessed of the essential elements 
of the christian character, the things which accompany 
salvation; are you to deny the reality of your religion, be- 
cause for the present you are deprived of its invaluable, 
but mutable, enjoyments and graces? Because a man has 
not the beauty of Absalom nor the strength of Samson, 
it does not follow that he does not belong to the species. 
And though your hopes may not be so high as those of 
8 



some with. whom you associate, your state may be as safe; 
and though their joy may be higher, your grace may be as 
great : for the measure of our spiritual peace is not sa 
much in proportion to the amount of our attainments, as 
to the degree in which God is pleased to lift on us the 
light of his countenance, and to bless us with the presence 
and consolations of his Spirit, 

3. Some deprive themselves of comfort by confounding 
the perfection with the degrees of faith. 

Through the peculiar favour of God some are enabled 
to walk in the light of his countenance - 7 to rejoice in the 
hope of his glory ; to appropriate the blessings of the great 
salvation ; to realize their interest in the righteousness of 
Immanuel ; and to say, " I am my Beloved's and my Be- 
loved is mine : this God is my God for ever and ever." 

Their faith is perfect. It expels doubts ; casts out 
fear; and makes them strong in the Lord, and in the power 
of his might. It gives them the first-fruits of the Spirit, 
and a foretaste of heaven. 

The possession of such a faith is invaluable. Many 
have attained it; and we ought never to rest till we have 
secured it. Some spiritually-minded christians have had 
their desires so strongly and intensely fixed on its acqui- 
sition, that when they found themselves unable to reach it, 
they have suspected that they had no grace at all. 

But when throughout all the works and dispensations 
of the Most High, amidst objects of the same class and 
order, a beautiful and striking variety every where reigns; 
can we reasonably expect a precise uniformity amongst 
the followers of Christ in their faith and holiness, in their 
knowledge and enjoyments? Are all his children of the 
same age? Are all his scholars alike diligent and docile? 
Are all his soldiers alike courageous and skilful ? With 
fewer years and inferior advantages are you to rival and 
surpass those who possess superior age and privileges? 
Are you to deny the reality of your religion, because it is 
deficient in its degrees? When corn is in the blade; are 
we to affirm that it has no title to the name of grain, be- 
cause it is not in the ear ? Are infants to be excluded 
from the list of the human race, because they are destitute 



87 

of the size and strength of men? And while you love 
the Lord Jesus Christ supremely, and cleave to him with 
full purpose of heart, are you to reject the consolations of 
the gospel, and regard yourselves as reprobates, because 
you are not endowed with the faith, fortitude, and holy 
joy of an experienced and established believer? 

Before therefore you make the deficiency of your attain- 
ments an argument that you have no religion whatever; 
you ought to examine if the attainments after which you 
aspire, may reasonably be expected from people of your 
years, and possessed of your advantages. The progress 
of christians of the same age and favoured with the same 
advantages, is often very unequal: and it is quite prepos- 
terous to expect the same attainments from those whose 
years and privileges are widely different. If you have 
only recently been led to lay to heart the things belonging 
to your peace, or if your opportunities for spiritual improve- 
ment have been unfavourable; it is too much to hope to 
equal some of your brethren in their acquirements, or to 
arrive at once at the summit of christian perfection, and 
the measure of the stature of perfect men in Christ. It is 
•enough that your progress corresponds to your age and 
privileges, even though it should be less than your wishes, 
and inferior to that of some of your more advanced christian 
acquaintances. It is absurd to look for meridian splen- 
dour at the dawn of day ; or to expect the coolness and 
experience of a veteran in a raw recruit. And it is as un- 
reasonable to expect in a young convert, the wisdom, 
faith, fortitude, and patience which have been found in 
aged disciples, or in the Apostles and martyrs of God. 
Your business is to strengthen the faith that you have; to 
pray God to increase it; and to persevere in the active 
discharge of every duty, and in the careful improvement 
of every privilege : for then shall ye know, if ye follow on 
to know the Lord. 

In this manner we find that many involve themselves 
in perplexity and trouble from mistaking the nature of 
faith, and the foundation of spirtual consolation. They 
confound it with some of its fruits and effects, with some 
of its accessaries and appendages, They complain of 



88 

the weakness of faith, when the real cause of their distress 
is their want of religious comfort and of great spiritual 
gifts and graces. 
It must be observed, 

II. That faith, though weak, may be real and saving. 

That this is the case will appear by shewing that strong 
faith is a relative term, so that what in one situation may 
be denominated strong faith, may in another be consider- 
ed as weak ; that faith is sometimes strongest when the 
believer suspects that it is weakest; that the promise of 
salvation is attached to sound and genuine, as well as to 
strong and lively faith ; and that many kind and gracious 
encouragements are given to feeble and drooping, timid 
and disconsolate believers. 

1. Strong faith is a relative term, so that what in one 
situation may be denominated strong faith, may in ano- 
ther be considered as weak. 

Christians are placed in very different circumstances. 
They have various duties to fulfil ; and are required to* 
pass through very unequal scenes of joy and sorrow, of 
suffering and of comfort. Some are called to teach, and 
others to be taught: some are fixed in public stations, and 
have to act a conspicuous and important part in life; 
others occupy a lower place, and move in a more obscure 
and limited sphere. Some are favoured with prosperity, 
and others are visited with adversity. One is wafted 
along with a gentle breeze, and all around him is bright 
and inviting: another is compelled, to make his way 
amongst rocks and quicksands, and contend with all the 
violence of the storm and tumult of the ocean. 

Now since it is the Lord who selects the situations 
which we occupy, and prescribes the duties which we are 
to discharge ; since it is he who appoints our trials, and 
administers our comforts ; it is reasonable to expect that 
his communications will be suited to our need, and pro- 
portioned to the services which he demands and the suf- 
ferings which he inflicts. Whilst therefore those whose 
labours are more difficult and hazardous, and whose 
troubles are more complicated and severe, have encour- 



agement to expect a plentiful supply of faith and fortitude ; 
those who are beset with fewer dangers, and exposed to 
less painful privations, have no warrant to insist on the 
possession of the same measure of supernatural aid. 

Whilst therefore you are complaining of the weakness 
or want of faith, your complaints may be altogether 
groundless. Your faith may be weaker than that of 
many, and yet be of the operation of God. You may 
neither be visited with the same calamities, nor summon- 
ed to the same painful and perilous services to which they 
are called. Though therefore your faith is far less than 
what is requisite for them, it may be enough for you. — 
The very men whom, perhaps, you are envying for their 
strong faith and heavenly fortitude, may find that they 
possess no more than what is absolutely necessary for the 
labour in which they are engaged, and the sufferings to 
which they are subjected. They who gathered much of 
the manna had nothing over; and they who gathered little 
had no lack. By that precious promise, "My grace is 
sufficient for thee," God assures the feeblest amongst his 
people of what is necessary for their support: but the 
strongest will find that they have no strength to spare, 
for their duties and trials will be multiplied in proportion. 
It is not requisite that every seaman should be endowed 
with the talents of an admiral, nor that every soldier should 
possess the military science of a commander. It is 
enough that each enjoys what is proper for the duties of 
his own place. And however desirable eminent gifts and 
great grace may be, are you to repine because you are not 
enriched with all the spiritual endowments that blessed 
and ennobled the most illustrious servants of God ? 

Though you cannot at present rejoice in the Lord as 
your God ; be thankful for faith to cleave to him, and to 
enable you affectionately and steadily to fulfil the labours 
of your station. Wait on him, and keep his. way. What 
is good he will give. When your duties multiply or your 
sufferings abound, he will increase your strength and en- 
large your consolations. But he is a God of order, and 
performs his promises only in their season. He gives us 
grace to strengthen us for labour, when we are called to 
8* 



90 

active duty ; comforting grace he vouchsafes in a time of 
trouble; and dying grace he reserves for a dying day. 
Though therefore you may not be possessed of all the 
faith which you wish, be glad that you enjoy what you 
need. 

The same believer has different degrees of faith at dif- 
ferent times. Paul, who on one occasion could do all 
things; on another despaired even of life. Job, who at 
one time declared though God slay me, yet will I trust in 
him; upon another imagined that God had become his 
enemy. And David too, who would not fear though a 
host should encamp against him; afterwards said, I shall 
one day fall by the hand of Saul. 

2. Faith is sometimes strongest when the believer sus- 
pects that it is weakest. 

The christian and the formalist, or self-deceiver, are 
completely the reverse of each other. Whenever he pos- 
sesses peace, the self-deceiver fancies that his faith is 
sound and genuine. He has no attacks from Satan : for 
while the strong man armed keepeth the house, his goods 
are in peace. He has no disturbance from the remains of 
corruption : for while dead in sins, there is nothing within 
him to make him sensible of his wretched and ruined situ- 
ation. He has no grief for the want of Divine consola- 
tions : for while his soul never tasted the blessedness in- 
spired by their presence, their absence can excite no pain- 
ful regrets. And having no grace which can be tried ; he 
is a stranger to the severe and harassing exercises of faith 
and patience to which many of the children of God are ex- 
posed. There is little to interrupt his tranquillity : and 
from this fatal calm ; which is most alarming to a spiritu- 
al mind, because it marks a soul forsaken of God and 
abandoned to utter destruction; the infatuated man 
draws the most preposterous conclusions. Because he 
has no fears, he imagines that he has mighty faith; and 
that his condition must be without danger, because he is 
free from disturbance. 

But no sooner is a man brought into a state of grace, 
than he encounters much to try his faith and fortitude. 
Satan will assault him. Though he keeps his own quar- 



91 

ters quiet, he makes many an effort to storm the camp of 
his foes : and even where final success is hopeless, his 
disappointed pride and malignant cruelty will lead him 
to harass those whom he cannot destroy. Having now a 
law in his mind, he becomes sensitively alive to every 
movement of the law in his members : and loving God 
with his whole heart, and longing to exalt the name of Je- 
sus above every name ; he is mortified and grieved to find 
that he cannot do the things that he would, and that he 
can undertake and accomplish so little in the work in 
which he supremely delights. Having found life in the 
favour of God, and experienced that his loving-kindness 
is better than life ; the hidings of the Divine countenance 
and the loss of spiritual consolation pierce his heart and 
afflict his soul. To enlarge and confirm his faith God is 
pleased to exercise and try it; sometimes by worldly 
crosses, sometimes by the delay of promised mercies, 
and at other times by seeming to disregard his petition 
and his cry. 

Look now at the christian in such circumstances; as- 
sailed by temptations which he hates, harassed with the 
stirrings of depravity which his soul abhors, deprived of 
the blessings which he so highly values, and subjected to 
such a severe trial of his religious principles ; and say, if 
he now can be possessed of peace, and able to maintain 
an unshaken confidence and an elevating joy? He may 
sometimes be ready to sink into despair: but whilst he 
vigorously resists the attacks by which he is annoyed; 
and determines, that if he must perish, he shall die at his 
Master's feet : can you say, though his comfort has fled, 
that his faith has failed? and that along with the loss of 
his spiritual peace, he has also renounced his allegiance 
to his heavenly King? The man who falls in the defence 
of his country, is perhaps possessed of more love to his 
country than many who are residing in the mansions of 
the great or feasting at the table of the president. And 
there is frequently as much faith in the heart of the chris- 
tian, who, when all things seem to be against him, cleaves 
firmly to the Lord ; as in the heart of that believer who is 



92 

walking in the light of God's countenance, and rejoicing 
in hope of his glory. 

3. The promise of salvation is not confined to strong 
and lively faith, but extends to all that is sound and liv- 
ing. 

Our faith can never be too strong nor lively. We ne- 
ver can rest too simply, nor rely too confidently, on the 
word of a true and faithful God. We never can place too 
great dependence on an almighty and infinite Saviour: 
nor apply and appropriate too fully the rich and inexhaus- 
tible provisions of the everlasting gospel. For all things 
are ours ; and the more cordially that we embrace them, 
and the more largely we enjoy them; we not only pro- 
mote more effectually our own best interests, but also do 
the greater honour to the generosity and truth of the God 
of grace. 

But if nothing but a strong and lively faith can save us, 
what is to become of the weak brother for whom Christ 
died? Where shall the faint and those who have no 
might appear? Why are we commanded not to despise 
the day of small things ? and told that the strength of 
Christ is made perfect in our weakness? If every be- 
liever must possess the same amount of faith, and be alike 
strong in that grace ; there could be no weak members in 
the family of Christ, nor any occasion for promises of en- 
couragement and support to the feeble, the drooping, and 
disconsolate. 

The object which God requires, and which will ensure 
our salvation in the great day of decision, is not strong 
but genuine faith. The strongest faith cannot save by 
its own intrinsic power or worth, but entirely by uniting 
the soul to Jesus, and giving it an interest in his righteous- 
ness. There is salvation in no other. Without the re- 
demption of Christ, there could have been no object for 
faith to fix on. And if men still neglect his righteous- 
ness: they may exert themselves as they please to believe; 
they may cling ever so tenaciously to the opinions which 
they form, and the delusions which they adopt ; but after 
all they must perish. 



93 

And as the firmest faith is absolutely unprofitable ex- 
cept by leading the soul to rely simply on the righteous- 
ness of the Lord Jesus Christ; the feeblest faith, that rests 
on his all-sufficient merits, renders its possessor just as 
safe as the strongest. Our interest in a gift depends, 
not upon the manner in which we embrace it, but on the 
manner in which it is conferred. The sick man, who can 
merely express his acceptance of the kindness of his be- 
nefactor, is just as much entitled to its use, as the stur- 
diest who can vigorously grasp the favour. On ship- 
board a giant is sustained, and carried forward, not by 
his own bulk and vigour, but by the strength and motion 
of the vessel: and every infant there is just as safe, and 
as rapidly propelled, as he. And in religion, the strong- 
est faith can do no more than unite the soul to Jesus; and 
the weakest faith, if genuine, does no less. 

If your faith has led you to renounce all dependence 
upon your own wisdom and worth, to rest on Christ alone 
for righteousness and strength; however feeble and im- 
perfect you may deem it, it is sufficient to bear up the 
whole weight of your eternal interests. Faith, no strong- 
er than that, has already landed thousands in the world of 
glory. And if you are possessed of such faith, you have 
all the security which the word of an almighty and faithful 
God can give you, for your own everlasting happiness. 
"He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved." It is 
not said that he who has faith to cast out devils, to re- 
move mountains, to subdue kingdoms, to overcome the 
world, to abound in hope, to rejoice in anticipation of 
eternal glory, but he that believeth, shall be saved. 

A few grapes prove that the tree on which they grow is 
a vine, and neither a bramble nor a thorn. A few flow- 
ers or leaves show that the plant is alive. A breath or 
sigh indicates that the patient, however exhausted, is not 
dead. And a faith which makes the soul cleave to the 
Saviour and tremble at his word, demonstrates the pres- 
ence of grace in the heart as completely, as when it rises 
up into a calm and settled assurance, and enables its pos- 
sessor to appropriate and apply all the rich and inexhaus- 
tible blessings of the great salvation. 



94 

4. The most kind and encouraging promises of assist- 
ance and acceptance are given to the weak in faith. 

The shepherd is most concerned for the feeble in his 
flock ; and the parent for the sick and languishing in his 
family. And the great Shepherd and Bishop of souls has 
shown the most deep and lively solicitude for the safety 
and comfort of the timid, the dejected, and desponding. 
His charge to Peter was, to feed his lambs. He enjoins 
ministers to strengthen the weak hands and to confirm 
the feeble knees; to say to them that are of a fearful 
heart, Be strong, fear not ; behold your God will come 
with vengeance, even God with a recompense : he will 
come and save you. Ages before his appearance, it was 
foretold that a bruised reed he should not break, and 
smoking flax he should not quench. He commenced his 
ministry by declaring, The Spirit of the Lord God is up- 
on me ; because he hath anointed me to preach good tid- 
ings to the meek ; he hath sent me to bind up the broken- 
hearted. He pronounces blessings not only on those who 
are strong in faith, rich in grace, and full of spiritual joy; 
but also on the poor in spirit, on those that mourn, and 
that hunger and thirst for righteousness. He feeds his 
flock as a shepherd ; gathers the lambs with his arm, car- 
ries them in his bosom ; and gently leads those that are 
with young. He seeks that which was lost ; brings again 
that which was driven away ; strengthens the weak, and 
binds up that which is broken. He makes his grace suf- 
ficient for us ; and perfects his strength in our weakness. 

What is the meaning of all this, but saying in plain 
terms; that, wherever there is a spiritual and gracious 
principle implanted in the heart, it will not be overlooked, 
destroyed* nor lost; but protected, strengthened, and con- 
flrmed^tiil made meet for eternal glory. 

Whenever, therefore, you are apprehensive that your 
state is dangerous because your faith is weak, your wis- 
dom is to search more for the evidences of its reality than 
of its strength. In sickness, though the patient is with- 
out present vigour, it is encouraging to find the symptoms 
of returning health. And in a state of religious languor 
and despondence, it is delightful to be able to discover 



95 

the proofs of a sound and genuine, though not of a lively 
and overcoming faith. Has your faith led you to submit 
to the Saviour, and to yield a cordial obedience to his 
laws? Has it brought you to rest on him as all your sal- 
vation and all your desire ? If it has : then you may sec 
your calling and election of God. He who is great, has 
done great things for you. And having begun a good 
work in you, he will perform it unto the day of Christ. 

For a season you may be unable to realize your high 
privileges. But hold fast that which you have. Wait on 
the Lord and keep his way. Cast not away the begin- 
ning of your confidence, which hath great recompense of 
reward : for he is faithful who hath promised, who also 
will do it. Though your beginning is small, your latter 
end shall greatly increase. The most majestic oak was 
once an acorn. The mightiest river when traced to its 
source, is found to be but a diminutive stream. And 
what was the most illustrious saint that ever blessed the 
church on earth, or entered the world of glory, at the com- 
mencement of his career, but a babe in Christ? Give, 
therefore, earnest heed to the things belonging to your 
peace. Strive to grow in grace, and in the knowledge 
of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; and you also shall 
be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner 
man. Christ will dwell in your hearts by faith; till being 
rooted and grounded in love , you shall be able to com- 
prehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, 
and depth, and height, and to know the love of Christ 
which passeth knowledge, that ye may be filled with all 
the fulness of God. 

If, therefore, that faith which in one situation or char- 
acter is regarded as strong, may in another be consider- 
ed as weak; if faith is sometimes strongest, when the be- 
liever suspects that it is weakest ; if the promise of salvation 
is annexed, not to strong and lively, but to real and living 
faith; and if the most kind and animating assurances of 
assistance and acceptance are given to the weak in faith; 
then, if you have evidence that your faith is real, though 
far from possessing all the strength that you wish, you 



have reason to rejoice, and to apply to yourselves the 
consolations and hopes of the gospel. 

But whilst these things are mentioned for the encour- 
agement of the humble and timid, who are ready to sus- 
pect from the weakness of their faith, that they have no 
grace at all : remember tfyat it can administer no comfort 
to any who are willing to remain in such a state of lan- 
guor and debility. What would you think of the sick 
man, who is glad that he is alive, but gives himself no 
concern for the recovery of his health? of the merchant, 
who, while struggling with all the embarrassments of 
bankruptcy and poverty, is delighted that he is out of jail, 
but makes no effort to secure wealth and independence ? 
And can we regard that professor as a sound and genu- 
ine christian, who is satisfied because he fancies that he 
possesses the root and principle of the divine life, whilst 
he makes no exertion to be strong in faith, and to abound 
in the fruits of righteousness and in the joys and comforts 
of the Holy Ghost? The most active and industrious 
man alive may be siezed with indisposition, and prevent- 
ed for a time from pursuing his ordinary avocations : but 
he has no love for his malady nor any wish for its contin- 
uance. The most pious, zealous, and heavenly-minded 
believer may labour under occasional languor and infir- 
mity : but this is not a state in which he would willingly 
remain. He resists these attacks of drowsiness and indif- 
ference. He endeavours to shake off his torpor and in- 
activity. He forgets the things that are behind, and 
reaches forth unto those things that are before. And if 
you have any genuine acquaintance with the truth as it is 
in Jesus, your religion will operate in a similar manner. 
You will be grieved and ashamed on account of your 
infirmities and imperfections. You will every day be en- 
gaged in fervent prayer and strenuous efforts, to become 
more watchful, humble, spiritual, and holy. For the path 
of the just is as the shining light, which shineth more 
and more unto the perfect day. The righteous holdeth 
on his way, and he that hath clean hands waxeoi strong- 
er and stronger. 



CHAPTER VI. 
THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED. 



1 Arise, my soul, from deep distress, 
And banish every fear; 
God calls thee to his throne of grace, 
To spread thy sorrows there." 



Since faith enters so materially into all the duties and 
enjoyments of the Christian life; and since our happiness 
and holiness depend so much upon its strength and live- 
liness; it is an object of great importance to know by 
what means it may be most effectually established and 
maintained in the soul, and endowed with the most steady 
and commanding influence over the mind. For this pur- 
pose it is necessary to add, 

III. A few directions to those who are weak in faith. 

I. Pore not upon the difficulties and dangers of your 
situation, but look directly to the perfect and adorable 
character of that God who invites your trust. 

Sense and reason are weak and cowardly. The range 
of their observation is low and contracted, and the 
amount of their resources is limited and paltry. They 
magnify every real difficulty; and frequently increase 
our embarrassments and fears, by conjuring up ideal dan- 
gers. They tremble at the shaking of a leaf; and main- 
tain that every new and unknown trouble is utterly in- 
supportable and absolutely destructive. They tell us that 
this sin can never be forgiven, that this corruption never 
9 



08 

can be subdued, that this duty never can be fulfilled, nor 
that trial endured. 

If, therefore, you listen to their suggestions, you never 
can be established, nor blessed with settled and composing 
rest. You will be like a wave of the sea driven with the 
wind and tossed. 

But if you will withdraw your ears from their dark and 
revolting representations, and fix your eye on the wisdom 
and grace of Him who gave the promises, and whose pow- 
er and faithfulness are engaged to make them good : 
where is there an enemy that can shake your confidence, 
or an event that ought to disturb your peace ? 

Your path may be intricate. You may be unable to 
discover any issue from your perplexities and troubles. 
But because it is hid from your view, is it concealed from 
the all-penetrating eye of the Omniscient? He knows 
the close, as thoroughly as the commencement of your 
trials. He sees the end from the beginning. His wis- 
dom is unsearchable. His understanding is infinite. — 
And though you cannot, he knows well how to deliver 
the godly out of temptation. 

Your guilt may be great and your corruptions dread- 
ful. But has he not laid your help on one mighty to 
save? has not Jesus finished transgression, and made an 
end of sin? Is there any passion so strong and turbulent, 
that his almighty arm is unable to reduce it to subjection? 
any corruption so inveterate that he cannot eradicate ? or 
any guilt too great for him, whose blood cleanseth from 
all sin, to wash away? If they would only take refuge 
there, there is strength sufficient behind the shield of his 
atonement, to defend a whole apostate universe from the 
visitations of almighty vengeance. How much more then 
must he possess the power, upon your humble contrite 
application, to forgive all your sins, and grant your salva- 
tion with eternal glory ? 

Your enemies may be restless and rancorous, and your 
dangers apparently insurmountable and overwhelming. 
But is there any thing too hard for the Lord? He speaks, 
and it is done : he commands, and all things stand fast. 
He doeth whatsoever pleaseth him in heaven, and in 



99 

earth, and in all deep places. Take a survey of the extent 
of creation; think of the magnificence and grandeur of 
the unnumbered worlds, moving with such majestic state- 
liness and unbroken steadiness in the vast expanse that 
encircles us : and say, can any thing be too difficult for 
him who formed the whole by a word, and sustains them 
all by the mere act of his will? The wide universe, how- 
ever, is far from being the measure of his strength. It is 
a mere specimen of his power. Were it, at this moment, 
swept from the face of being, he could the next moment 
replace it, by another ineffably more large and stupen- 
dous: for he is able not only to repeat all that he has al- 
ready done, but to outdo all the former displays of his 
wisdom and might. There is no searching of his under- 
standing, and his power is almighty. 

Whenever, therefore, you are brought into distress and 
trouble; whenever you are deprived of the created sup- 
ports of your courage and the usual sources of your joy; 
it is the height of folly to fasten your eye upon the diffi- 
culties and dangers of your condition, or upon the great- 
ness and the value of the blessings which you need. 
Your wisdom is to summon faith instantly to your assist- 
ance, and to lean entirely upon the Lord. By poring 
upon the formidable appearances in your situation, you 
may aggravate all your sufferings, and involve yourselves 
in deeper perplexity and dismay. But if you look at 
once beyond all your own weakness and unworthiness, 
your own trials and distresses, to the wisdom, the power, 
the grace, and faithfulness of the God of love; in him 
you will find more than a match for all your difficulties, 
and an antidote for all your fears. If you were called to 
encounter your troubles, and discharge your duties in 
your own strength; if, when assailed with temptation and 
beset with danger, you had no higher saviour than a cre- 
ated arm; you might justly sink into despondence, or give 
way to despair. But when, by the eye of faith, you are 
carried through the thick and cloudy atmosphere of afflic- 
tion and sorrow, transported beyond the narrow bounds 
of sanse and reason, and fixed directly in the contemplation 
of ImmanuePs all-sufficient sacrifice and the power and 



100 

faithfulness of an infinite God : what can overturn your 
trust or excite your alarm? 

If, in his advanced years, when a son was promised 
him, Abraham had thought only on his own age and that 
of Sarah ; or if, at the Red Sea, when assured of a pas- 
sage through the deep, Moses had attended merely 
to the operation of second causes ; they would have had 
reason to have hesitated, and to have cried, How can 
these things be? But by looking at the power of the 
great Promiser, what was the consequence? Every 
shade of doubt and apprehension was dissipated ; and they 
felt the most perfect certainty in the accomplishment of 
his word. They staggered not at the promise of God 
through unbelief; but were strong in faith, giving glory 
to God, being fully persuaded that what he had promised 
he was also able to perform. And if, in the day of your 
distress, you persist in asking, How you shall weather the 
storm of adversity? bear the weight of your trials? se- 
cure the supply of your wants? or obtain the salvation of 
your souls? you will only augment the pressure of your 
burdens, and deepen the horrors of the gloom by which 
you are surrounded. But if you will dismiss the suspi- 
cions of sense, and adopt the arguments of faith; light 
will spring up in darkness, and you shall soon rise supe- 
rior to all your trepidation and dejection. Faith will 
teach you to reason on this wise, What hath God said? 
Has he engaged to pardon my sins ? to heal my backsli- 
dings? to subdue mine iniquities? to supply all my need? 
to support me under every trouble ? to deliver me from 
every evil? and at last to save my soul, and introduce me 
into eternal glory? Has an almighty and covenant-keep- 
ing God spoken all this in his holiness? Then I will re- 
joice. A man might deceive me; an angel might fail 
me; but with the Lord upon my side, whom need I fear? 
If he be for me, who can be against me? His love is as 
great as his power : and he never has uttered one kind en- 
couraging word without the will and determination to 
make it good. 

But you perhaps will tell me, that " you have no doubt 
of the power of the Most High. You know that he can 



101 

do all things, neither is there any thing too hard for him. 
But the question is, What has he promised ? His power 
was as great when the angels fell, as when Jesus was 
bearing our sins on Calvary; and it is as great when sin- 
ners take their descent to perdition, as when the angels 
of light raise their hymn of triumph over the admission of 
a soul to glory.'" Let me then entreat you, 

2. To study the promises of his word, and fix your faith 
on what they reveal. 

A man of integrity and wealth will honour every draft 
that he gives : but he will indignantly spurn the idea of 
being answerable for every demand that fraud and avarice, 
without his knowledge or permission, shall presume to 
make upon his banker. 

Jehovah has passed his word to walk in the path of his 
promises, and to regulate the dispensations of his provi- 
dence by the declarations of his grace. To the men of 
the world, the Bible appears an insignificant and contemp- 
tible volume; far less interesting and useful than the 
trash and scum of the daily press. But to a man, whose 
mind is enlightened by faith and his heart purified by the 
influences of the Holy Spirit, the Bible is invaluable. It 
is the charter of his salvation. It is the security of all his 
hopes, and the pledge of the affection and faithfulness of 
the God of love. It contains exceeding great and pre- 
cious promises. No words can express, nor any mind 
conceive their excellence and grandeur. Though you 
had possessed the command of the heart of the Most High 
and all the resources of Omnipotence; you could not 
have placed better, richer, greater, nobler blessings in the 
covenant of peace, than what the Father of mercies has 
spontaneously planted there. Pardon, righteousness and 
strength; grace and glory; every thing requisite for your 
safety and happiness in time, and for your dignity and de- 
light through eternity; are all lodged in this revelation of 
Divine generosity, and conveyed along with the Lord Je- 
sus Christ. " He that spared not his own Son, but de- 
livered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also 
freely give us all things?" 

And whilst these promises are exceedingly great and 
9* 



102 

infinitely precious ; they are all absolutely and infallibly 
true and certain. For they are all founded in the purpose 
of Him, whose nature is unchangeable, and supported by 
the power of Him, whose might is irresistible. The least 
promise is not below the notice of the God who gave it; 
and the greatest is not beyond the reach of Him who 
grasps creation in his span, and wields at pleasure all the 
elements of nature. 

But whilst his faithfulness stands committed to fulfil 
the promises which he has given; remember that he 
has nowhere bound himself to regulate his proceed- 
ings according to the dictates of sense and reason, 
nor to fashion them according to our fancies and hu- 
mours. If he had given any notice of such a design ; 
then we should have had great cause indeed to have 
been alarmed whenever events occurred contrary to 
our expectations and wishes. But since, instead of any 
such intimation, he has on the contrary expressly reserved 
to himself the right of following the course of his own 
promises : what ground have we for uneasiness or fear, as 
long as he continues to move within the safe and sacred 
limits fixed by his own wisdom and published in his own 
word? 

In order therefore to strengthen your faith, and secure 
the hope and comfort which in every situation , he gra- 
ciously encourages you to entertain; labour to become 
familiar with the nature and extent of the promises, and 
learn the blessed art of applying them to your own vary- 
ing duties, wants, and trials. Much of the unbelief that 
abounds in the world, and of the doubt and despondence 
that prevails in the church, arises from ignorance of what 
God has revealed. Did Christians only know the things 
that are freely given them of God could they question his 
generosity, or cherish any suspicions of his faithfulness? 
And did even the worldly know the matchless perfections 
and infinite loveliness of his character, they would find it 
almost impossible to withhold their hearts from his pos- 
session, and their time and strength from his service. 

If you desire to enjoy settled peace and make great 
spiritual progress, you must contemplate him as he has 



103 

revealed himself in the oracles of truth. Faith comes by 
hearing, and hearing by the word of God. No man can 
become learned or wise by a mere wish, or mental effort. 
To obtain learning or wisdom, he must study the princi- 
ples of knowledge, and carefully employ the means for 
improving his powers and storing his mind with useful 
information. And faith is strengthened and increased 
not by any abstract effort to believe, but by a growing ac- 
quaintance with the certainty, the excellence and the glo- 
ry of the truths published in scripture. Where these 
truths are unknown or disregarded, there can be no faith 
at all. But if you knew their real worth, and were tho- 
roughly convinced of the high authority from which they 
come; you would be constrained to admire their magni- 
tude and grandeur, and to rely on their unquestionable and 
everlasting verity. The blessings which they reveal are 
immense, and exactly suited to your need. But they are 
neither too great for the hand of Omnipotence to bestow, 
nor too mighty for his faithfulness to fulfil. Whilst, 
therefore, they contain what you supremely value, and 
are given freely by the God of truth: if you clearly un- 
derstood their nature, and were persuaded of their reality, 
could you refrain from embracing them as all your salva- 
tion and all your desire? or refuse to rest on them as the 
foundation of your present hopes, and pledge of your 
never-ending blessedness '( 

The faith which is founded upon the word of God can 
never rise too high, nor be subjected to too great a pres- 
sure. The base is as broad as the desires of an immortal, 
firm as Omnipotence, and capable of sustaining a fabric 
lofty as heaven and lasting as eternity. But no edifice 
can be stronger than the foundation on which it is reared. 
Rocks piled on snow or sand, though secured by bands 
of iron, will give way. And faith that does not simply 
rest on the word of God ; though held with all the tena- 
city of death, in the time of trial, and in the day of de- 
cision, will most miserably fail. But the building placed 
on a rock will stand. And the faith that is fixed on the 
word of God, on the Rock of ages, no convulsion can 
shake, nor any length of time destroy. 



104 

In proportion, therefore, as you value lively hope and 
lasting peace, be careful to familiarize your minds with 
the truths of revelation, and to secure clear and compre- 
hensive views of their nature and design. Ponder tho- 
roughly the magnitude and grandeur of the blessings 
which they promise ; the freeness with which they are be- 
stowed; and the infallible security with which they are 
all supported. The more fully you understand their 
meaning and extent, and the high authority on which 
they are founded ; the more will your heart be charmed 
with their excellence and glory, and led to rely more sim- 
ply and unreservedly upon their absolute truth and un- 
failing certainty. Your faith will increase in proportion 
as you grow in the knowledge of your Lord and Saviour 
Jesus Christ: and when you know him fully, you will be 
able to rest on him unreservedly, and to trust in him whol- 
ly. But whilst your views of his character and worth are 
dark and confused, and your ideas of the doctrines of his 
word are partial and contracted; your faith can neither 
be firm, nor your comfort steady. " Believe in the Lord 
your God, so shall ye be established : believe his prophets, 
so shall ye prosper." 

The man who, without a deposit, goes to a banker 
with a draft, acts the part of a fool, and exposes himself 
to derision. The man who counterfeits the signature of 
another, is a forger, and exposes himself to death. The 
man too who disregards the word of God, and substitutes 
his own opinions and fancies in its room, is deluded and 
misled, and trusts to what can never bring him the small- 
est profit. And the man who knowingly and deliberate- 
ly contradicts, perverts, or corrupts the scriptures, is a 
daring rebel against the authority of the Most High, and 
subjects himself to everlasting vengeance. But as every 
additional draft from a man of wealth, is so much clear 
gain; every fresh discovery that we can make of the 
meaning of the promises, and every new application that 
we can obtain of their blessings, is a pure accession to 
our spiritual treasures, and an unexpected addition to 
our best and dearest joys. The promises are all exceed- 
ing great and precious. Though we never can complete- 



105 

ly ascertain their whole worth; still the longer we study 
them, and the more fully we comprehend them, we shall 
be more and more charmed with their matchless and un- 
searchable excellencies, and rest the more firmly on their 
unchanging truth and everlasting certainty. 

If therefore you wish to enjoy strong and lively faith, 
and to possess settled and lasting peace; search the 
scriptures, and let the word of Christ dwell in you richly 
in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. To this it 
must be added, 

3. Pray for the teaching of the Holy Spirit. 

Faith is his gift. Men may talk as they please about 
the force of reason and the omnipotence of truth. Right 
reason, indeed, ought to be strong, and truth never can be 
too mighty. But what can truth avail when presented 
to the prejudiced ? or reason, when urged upon the idiot 
or the insane ? 

In every word and syllable of scripture there are ever- 
lasting truth and righteousness. But can these move the 
feelings of a corrupt heart, or conquer the enmity of a 
carnal mind? There are infinite loveliness and glory in 
the ever-blessed God. But can these attract the admira- 
tion of Satan, or excite the esteem and affection of the 
secure and careless of the sons of Adam? So far from 
raising their reverence or commanding their love, these 
attributes rouse the disgust and hatred of the impenitent 
and hardened. 

And with all the truth and grace which the scriptures 
contain, there are seasons when the most humble and 
spiritually-minded Christians can derive no comfort from 
these wells of salvation. They believe what these lively 
oracles reveal. They wish to feel their elevating and 
liberaliizng power, and to enjoy their sublime and ineffa- 
ble consolations. But they cannot. They renounce 
whatever opposes their influence, and resist whatever the 
scriptures condemn. But after all they reap no sensible 
advantage from their belief and labours. The word is 
without power. The ordinances are without profit. Their 
heart lies in their breast as cold and hard as a stone. But 
the Almighty Spirit can not only draw out the truth and 



106 

riches of the scriptures, but also open our hearts to receive 
them. He can not only put life into the ordinances, and 
render the word quick and powerful, but also put life in- 
to our hearts, and endow us with the capacity to relish 
and enjoy the blessings which they disclose. 

It is bis office to glorify the Father, to testify of Jesus, 
and to take of the things of Christ and shew them unto 
the soul. 

But without his teaching, the light may shine around 
us, and yet shine in vain : every truth in revelation may 
be presented to our contemplation, and yet remain dark, 
unintelligible, and unprofitable. The Bible is always the 
same: but what different impressions does it produce on 
different minds, and even on the same mind at different 
times. The scriptures which the Jews and the Christians 
study, to a certain extent, coincide ; those which were in 
the hands of Caiaphas and Paul, were identically the same : 
but what a contrast in the result that followed their peru- 
sal ! And even in the case of the same individual, the 
effect attending the reading of the sacred volume at one 
time, could not be more unlike that which accompanies 
it at another, even though the Bible with which we are 
familiar were annihilated, and a new one substituted in 
its room. 

But whilst we have the greatest need of his teaching, 
this invaluable blessing is graciously promised upon our 
application. Without limitation or reserve, the Lord Je- 
sus Christ says, "Ask, and it shall be given you ; seek, 
and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. 
For every one that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, 
findeth; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened. If 
ye, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your 
children; how much more shall your heavenly Father 
give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?" 

Under the guidance of this Almighty Agent, is any du- 
ty too difficult; or any blessing too high or precious to 
be attainable? With the whole universe at his disposal, 
nothing is too hard for him. He can work in you both 
to will and to do of his good pleasure. He can lead you 
into all truth : impart to you an unction whereby you 



107 

shall understand all things: give your hearts to believe 
and love the discoveries of Scripture, and to rest with 
calmness and assurance on that adorable and all-sufficient 
Redeemer whom they reveal. Learn then to implore his 
assistance, and to submit unreservedly to his direction. 

When, therefore, you consider the character of God 
who invites your trust; the security which he has given 
for your confidence ; and the power of that blessed Agent, 
who, in answer to prayer, is promised to work faith in 
your hearts, and to perfect what concerns you : let me, in 
the close of what has been said, entreat you to guard vigi- 
lantly against a spirit of unbelief. It is a common, a be- 
setting, but a ruinous sin. Men are very backward to re- 
ly on the testimony of God, not because there is any thing 
difficult or unreasonable in the exercise of faith ; but be- 
cause their minds are alienated from the love of God, and 
engrossed with secular cares and the most trifling and 
contemptible pursuits. 

In other things, where the subject is far more mysteri- 
ous and incomprehensible than any proposition within the 
whole compass of revelation, men exercise faith without 
the least scruple or reluctance. It seems to be only in 
matters of religion, where the greatest security has been 
given, where every truth has been fortified by evidence 
the most irresistible, and where distrust and fear are most 
preposterous and unfounded, that the human mind is di- 
vested of its natural resolution and confidence, and be- 
comes the slave of the most distracting doubts, and of the 
most distressing alarm and terror. 

A man will fearlessly take possession of a gift bestow- 
ed by the generosity of an absent friend, though he him- 
self has done nothing to gain it; and will coolly sit down 
in the enjoyment of a title and estate won by the talents 
and virtues of his ancestors, though he himself has not 
contributed to their acquisition or transmission. But the 
honours secured by the toils, and the immense inherit- 
ance in grace and in glory freely bequeathed by the 
death of our elder Brother and Lord, his people are ter- 
rified to claim and occupy. Notwithstanding all the lib- 
eral and unrestricted invitations of the Gospel, by which 



108 

every child of Adam is encouraged and exhorted to em- 
brace the glorious salvation which it brings; and notwith- 
standing all the overpowering demonstrations of the sin- 
cerity of the Most High in these proclamations of his 
grace • it is seldom, among the many thousands where 
these blessed tidings are most affectionately and forcibly 
published, that one is found who cordially believes them, 
and who boldly embarks his eternal all on their reality. 
Amidst the greatest tenderness and vehemence with 
which these truths are stated and urged, few give them- 
selves any concern about the matter; and, amongst the 
few who lay it to heart at all, the greater part continue to 
be haunted and harassed with apprehensions respecting 
the possibility of salvation through grace, and the faith- 
fulness of God in performing his promises. If they had 
any visible or tangible ground for their dependence, it 
would be perfectly easy and reasonable to cherish the hope 
of eternal life. If they were required to work out a right- 
eousness of their own; to occupy themselves in keeping 
the commandments; and by their alms, their prayers, and 
other moral and rehgious performances, td contribute 
something ta the service of God and the benefit of socie- 
ty, they fancy that they would then possess a valid claim 
to the kingdom of heaven; and having thus won, they 
might then safely entertain the expectation of wearing the 
crown of life. But to renounce all their own righteous- 
ness, to abandon all dependence on their moral duties 
and religious exercises, to place their undivided trust and 
reliance upon the worth of another, upon the obedience 
and sufferings of one whom they have never seen, and 
who is beyond the reach of all mortal vision : they regard 
as extremely dangerous, and almost as irrational and ab- 
surd, as to expect to stem the tide by a word, or to repel 
the attacks of disease and death by the enclosures of a 
fortress. 

Now, to those who are seriously concerned about their 
everlasting welfare; and who, notwithstanding the firm 
foundation which is laid in the gospel for the free, com- 
plete, and eternal justification of all who believe in the 
Lord Jesus Christ, are still labouring under a spirit of fear 



109 

and despondence about the safety of their souls, and the 
warrant afforded for their hopes by this plan of unsearcha- 
ble boundless mercy; I must say that the security given 
in the Scriptures for the salvation of those who embrace 
the gospel is absolute and complete, and at least as firm 
and ample as that which the God of nature has given for 
the uniformity and permanence of those laws which regu- 
late the phenomena of the material world. 

Carry back your inquiries into the causes of things, and 
say, what is there more difficult or mysterious in the doc- 
trine of salvation by grace, of justification through the 
righteousness of Christ ; than what we witness in the oc- 
currences of every day, and contemplate without the slight- 
est emotion of astonishment or wonder? What gives 
food its nourishing properties, or medicine its healing 
powers ? What gives vegetation to grain, and as the sea- 
sons roll round, brinks on the plenteous weeks of harvest? 
The husbandman commits his seed to the earth. He 
gives himself no more solicitude about the matter: and in- 
deed, though he were to torment himself with care, he 
could neither quicken nor retard the result, nor in the 
smallest degree affect the steps of the operation. "He 
sleeps and rises night and day, and seed springs and 
grows up, he knows not how : for the earth bringeth forth 
fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that 
the full corn in the ear." The earth and the planets 
around us, are in constant motion. But we see not the 
process. No eye has yet detected the wheels on which 
the mighty fabric rolls, nor seen the strong and steady 
hand which turns the silent spheres. We cannot obstruct 
their advance, accelerate their velocity, nor exert any 
control over their movements. But does this ignorance 
of the means by which their courses are carried on, or 
this inability to guide and influence their motions; injure 
our happiness and peace, disorder our secular plans and 
pursuits, break in upon our hours of rest, or disturb our 
nightly slumbers? No. Assured that the Most High, 
sitting behind the elements which he has formed, keeps 
his eye intent on the universe which he has made, sends 
bis all-pervading Spirit across the immensity of space, 
10 



110 

and by the word of his power sustains and governs the 
whole, and, till the light and darkness shall come to an 
end, will maintain unaltered their appointed revolutions, 
and preserve them all from ruin and derangement ; we 
give ourselves no uneasiness respecting the matter, but 
walk about our ordinary employments and amusements 
with all the calmness and confidence which the protec- 
tion of Omnipotence can inspire. 

But why all this coolness and composure in a case 
where we have nothing for our security and safety but 
the mere will of God ? And why all your apprehensions, 
trepidation, and distraction in matters of salvation, where 
you have all the certainty for your faith, and all the se- 
curity for your safety, which the power and faithfulness 
of the same Almighty God can afford you ? 

Will you say, that " religion is employed about things 
that are spiritual and invisible?" But is this any reason 
why we should reject its comforts and distrust its truths, 
any more than the evidence which is presented to our 
senses, and made a subject of observation and experiment? 
Is that God, who is a Spirit, less able to exert his author- 
ity over the spiritual than over the material world ? Is 
he less able to communicate impressions of his presence 
and power over the regions of intellect than of sense? 
Are the laws that govern the phenomena in the material 
universe more visible and palpable, than those which di- 
rect the operations of mind? Take a farmer, a physician, 
or astronomer by the hand ; and desire them to travel back 
a few steps in their respective walks; and you shall find 
that they soon reach the confines of knowledge and cer- 
tainty, and that the basis of their belief and practice is as 
much out of sight as your own. Why seed-corn should 
grow, and produce a crop any more than sand or pebbles ; 
unless such originally was the will of God, the husband- 
man with all his skill and experience cannot tell. Why 
opium should possess an intoxicating and soporific power, 
any more than snow or water; unless such has been the 
will of God, the physician with all his study and practice 
is ultimately unable to inform us. And why the earth 
and orbs around move at all, or move with the velocity 



Ill 

which they possess; unless such has been the appoint- 
ment of the Creator and Lord of the universe; the astron- 
omer, with the penetration of the loftiest intellect, and 
the science and observation of the longest life, is unable 
to explain. 

Now, in these and in a thousand other cases, is the 
simple will or appointment of the Most High an ample 
warrant for your security? Then what more than this 
can you possibly ask for the foundation of your trust or 
the source of your joy in the subject of your salvation? 
Have the husbandman, the physician, or astronomer, a 
more firm and substantial foundation for their confidence 
than you? Is the chain which binds the effect to the 
cause, more strong and visible in the natural than in the 
moral world? Or has the God, who possesses the man- 
agement of matter, more authority and power, than the 
God who reigns over the spiritual universe and exercises 
the supreme dominion in the kingdom of grace ? And 
shall men fearlessly rely on the unbroken connexion, 
which he has in the material world established betwixt 
cause and effect? and yet, after he has, in a manner so 
affecting and solemn, pledged his sincerity and truth in 
the promises of his word; shall you continue to cherish 
doubts and apprehensions respecting their fulfilment? 

You may perhaps tell me, "that this comparison is not 
fair: that in the business of life, and in the study of nature 
we have observation and experience for our guide; and 
that though the cause may be invisible, yet since the ef- 
fect is fully and distinctly manifest, we are able from the 
latter not only to infer the existence of the former, but 
likewise to reason far upon its operation and efficiency ." 

But pray, have we no observation nor experience to di- 
rect us in matters of religion? to corroborate the testi- 
mony of Scripture ? and give certainty and stability to the 
anticipations of faith? Look at the case of Abraham. 
He was called to live by faith. Blessings completely 
beyond the reach of nature, and far above his expecta- 
tions, were promised. In his old age, he was assured 
that he and Sarah should have a son: and, when a solita- 
ry wanderer in Canaan, and utterly unable to assert a 



112 

claim to a single inch of the soil, he was told that his pos- 
terity should inherit the whole. Now did any of these 
promises fail? Whose son was Isaac? And where had 
the Jews their residence for two thousand years ? Noah 
was informed that he and his family should be preserved, 
when the other inhabitants of the world should be drown- 
ed. And can there be any dispute whether he and his 
family escaped the deluge ? To Paul it was intimated 
that he and the company that sailed with him in his peril- 
ous voyage to Rome, amidst all the dangers and disasters 
of the deep, should have their lives given them for a prey. 
And were they not all brought safe to land? It was long 
ago announced that the law should go forth from Zion, 
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem ; that Jesus 
should have dominion from sea to sea, and from the river 
unto the ends of the earth; that he should be a light to 
lighten the Gentiles, and that to him should the gathering 
of the people be. And have these words taken no effect? 
Has the Gospel not been published in the islands of the 
seas, and found its way to the remotest regions of the world ? 
Is it not still extending its triumphs, and on its way to visit 
and to bless all the nations of the globe ? Amidst all the 
judgments with which the Jews were threatened for reject- 
ing the Messiah; still they were told, that, though God 
would make a full end of the nations among whom they 
were scattered, he would not make a full end of them. 
And has this promise been fulfilled or forgotten ? Have 
the Jews been swept off from the face of the earth? or in- 
corporated with the nations among whom they sojourned ? 
They have been scattered and peeled, trodden under foot, 
and made a taunt and a proverb among the nations. 
But while their conquerors have been subdued by others 
in their turn, and the victors and the vanquished so com- 
pletely blended, that no vestige of their original extrac- 
tion can be discovered; to the present day, in all the 
places of their dispersion, the Jews remain a peculiar peo- 
ple, and are as completely distinguished by their national 
characteristics, as when settled in Canaan, and peaceful- 
ly observing the institutions of their fathers. 

All this looks like observation, lending its testimony 



113 

to illustrate and verify the averments of scripture. But 
we may bring the matter nearer home, and render it a 
subject of experience. 

In the Bible it is written, " There is no peace to the 
wicked : the way of the wicked is as darkness, they know 
not at what they stumble; and they who hate wisdom," 
religion, "love death.'" Now, ask the unregenerate if they 
do not feel within themselves something like the accom- 
plishment of these declarations. Are they perfectly easy 
and comfortable in their irreligious course ? Have they 
no remorse in reflecting upon the past, nor any alarm in 
looking forward to the future? Do they never find their 
hopes blasted, and their schemes defeated? Do they 
never look for much when it comes to little, and find a 
canker in their possessions, which consumes the best of 
their substance ? What explanation can you give of this, 
unless it be that it is the justice of the Most High, watch- 
ing over the interests of his government; and faithfully 
fulfilling the threatenings of his word against the secure, 
the worldly, and the carnal ; and forcing upon the con- 
sciences of every succeeding generation of transgressors, 
the conviction that verily there is a reward to the wicked, 
verily there is a God that judgeth in the earth? 

If you know the grace of Christ, then I must put the 
question, Do you not experience the performance of the 
precious promises with which the word of truth is stored? 
It is there said, "Ask, and ye shall receive : seek, and ye 
shall find." And have you never found, to your delight- 
ful, joyful experience, that God is the hearer of prayer; 
that before you called, he answered ; and while you were 
yet speaking, he heard you ; that he has presented you 
with the blessings of goodness, and exceeded your ut- 
most petitions and requests? In his word he says, "Fear 
not, for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy 
God : as thy day is, so shall thy strength be." Now, are 
these declarations true, or false? What is the testimony 
of your own experience on the subject? When involved 
in trouble, when deep has called unto deep, when the 
proud waves have gone over your head, and when to your 
apprehension and that of every spectator, your distress 
10* 



114 

seemed insupportable, and your destruction inevitable: 
to your own astonishment, and to the wonder of every be- 
holder, have you not been borne up under the trial ? has 
not your head been raised high above all your fears? dark- 
ness been made light before you, and crooked things 
straight? have you not been mightily upheld amidst all your 
sufferings, and compassed about with songs of deliver- 
ance ? And to what can you ascribe your preservation 
but to the power and faithfulness of that God who has 
said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee; and who 
has promised to make all things work together for good 
to them that love him? 

Now, as from a part we can judge of the whole; as 
from the first-fruits we can estimate the quality of the 
approaching harvest; and from a single glass can form an 
idea of the contents of the ocean ; so, from the specimens 
of Divine tenderness and faithfulness which in our own 
experience we have enjoyed, and from the attestations to 
his fidelity and love transmitted to us from our fathers, 
we may confidently rely on the immutability of his na- 
ture, and the infallible certainty of all the promises con- 
tained in his word; and from what we see and know of 
their exact fulfilment upon earth and in time, we may se- 
curely depend on their complete and glorious accomplish- 
ment in heaven through eternity. 

When, therefore, you look at all the evidences which 
God has given of the truth of the Gospel, and of his sin- 
cerity in the free, rich, and precious invitations of his 
grace; I must ask you, who are in earnest for eternal life 
and solicitously inquiring what you must do to be saved, 
How is it that ye have no faith? In the operations of na- 
ture, men see not the hand and agency of the Most High : 
but they believe themselves perfectly safe in the world 
which he has made; and trust with the most unbounded 
confidence to the connexion betwixt cause and effect, 
and to the steadiness and uniformity of the processes in 
the material creation. But on what foundation is this 
universal conviction built? Unless such has originally 
been the will of God , the husbandman, physician, and as- 
tronomer, can assign no reason for the appearances which 



115 

they witness, and the facts upon which their calculations 
and practices are founded. He has given them no Bible 
to regulate their judgment in their respective pursuits; 
nor endowed them with any sense or organ denied to 
others, by which they can discern his hand and agency, 
and discover more manifest tokens of his presence and 
power on the fields of their observation, than he has af- 
forded in the dispensations of his grace. And shall they, 
in the business of life, without any direct communication 
from heaven, or any sense or organ withheld from you, 
believe themselves safe in the world which he sustains, 
and feel themselves secure in relying on the regularity of 
the laws which he has prescribed to nature? And after 
he has lavished on you the contents of the Bible, and 
poured around your path all the light and radiance of re- 
velation ; why do you distrust his word, and persist in 
harbouring such an amount of suspicion and jealousy in 
the face of the strongest and most affecting demonstrations 
of his sincerity and truth? 

Even supposing that the rules of husbandry, the princi- 
ples of medicine, and the laws of astronomy, had all been 
communicated by inspiration ; the students and practition- 
ers of these arts and sciences, could have had no greater 
security for the propriety and success of their measures, 
than what you enjoy in matters of religion, and in every 
subject connected with the present and everlasting wel- 
fare of your soul. There is but one God, who is in all, 
and through all, and over all. He who wields the scep- 
tre over the world of matter, and upholds the mighty mass 
of creation, is the same who rules in the empire of mind; 
who pervades it in all its vast extent; who superintends 
all its complicated operations ; and who has given as much 
stability and firmness to the foundations of Christian hope, 
as to the ordinances that determine the movements of the 
planetary system. 

How is it then that you can trust him for your bodies 
and the business of life ; and that you distrust him where 
your souls and their everlasting welfare are concerned? 
Where was the faith or consistency of the Israelites, who, 
after having been delivered by the strong hand of God 



116 

from the power of Pharaoh, and conducted through the 
sea on foot, doubted his ability to feed them in the wil- 
derness? And where is your faith or consistency in con- 
fiding in the stability of that world which he has made and 
which he preserves; and in trusting to the regular succes- 
sion of day and night, of summer and winter; but dis- 
tracting yourselves with anxiety and care about the suffi- 
ciency of the provisions of his grace, and the safety of 
your souls; when in obedience to his word you embrace 
the invitations of the Gospel, and lay hold on the Lord 
Jesus Christ as the author of your own eternal salvation? 

In the one case, God has done nothing to confirm your 
hope and confidence which, for a moment, can be com- 
pared with the security which he has afforded you in the 
other. He has not given you his word, his promise, nor 
his oath, to secure you of the success of your manual la- 
bour, and of the steadiness and permanence of the laws 
of nature. And after he has done all this and more, to 
fortify your dependence upon the declarations of his 
grace, and to assure all the children of men, that whoso- 
ever believeth on his Son shall never perish, but have eter- 
nal life; how is it that ye have no faith? Within the con- 
fines of immensity, is there a power more high and migh- 
ty than the God of heaven? or, amidst all the sacred so- 
lemnities employed to give validity and force to the de- 
clarations of love and mercy, could the God of truth bind 
himself by more firm and solid bands than his promise, his 
oath and the gift of his Son? And yet, after all these 
have been employed to ratify his proclamations of gene- 
rosity and tenderness : how is it that you cannot, that you 
will not believe? 

Though creation has no such security nor guard for its 
stability as his purposes of mercy, and promises of pardon, 
peace, and reconciliation to the believing penitent; do 
you regard yourselves as safe in the world which he has 
made? Do you never fear lest the earth, as it wheels 
with such rapid velocity in its annual revolution, will 
break away from the invisible course prescribed it; and, 
baffling all the exertions of the Almighty to recall it, wan- 
der far off into the untrodden tracks of space, beyond the 



117 

cheering visitations of heat and day? And yet while you 
consider yourselves free from danger in the world which 
he has made, and which his own providence sustains: 
how is it that you will not believe yourselves and your 
eternal interests safe within the limits and protection of 
that scheme of boundless benignity and mercy, which he 
planned by his infinite wisdom, and around which he has 
thrown all the strong and impregnable protection of his 
omnipotence? Why will you not believe yourselves se- 
cure in the hands of Him, who preserves every planet in 
its place, and has the whole universe at his command ; 
and who has engaged himself by every thing tender and 
touching in goodness, and sacred and binding in sincerity, 
to receive every sinner that returns, to give eternal life to 
all those that obey him, and never to leave nor forsake 
the souls of those that love him? Has the burden of 
your temporal interests given any shock to the firmness 
of the globe you dwell on, or any derangement to the re- 
gularity and magnificence of its movements? And after 
you have seen the ark of mercy advancing so steadily, so 
majestically on its course ; are you terrified, lest by throw- 
ing on board the additional weight of your eternal all, 
you shall burst its overstrained strength, and endanger the 
safety of the whole that it contains? 

I cannot tell you all that the arm of Immanuel has al- 
ready performed. But I know that he has softened hard 
and adamantine hearts ; that he has changed slaves of Satan 
into sons of God ; that he has driven Jordan back, opened 
a path for his people through the ocean ; that he has pluck- 
ed the prey from the grasp of death, and stopped the sun 
in his course, stretched out the heavens like a curtain, 
and planted immensity with the worlds that occupy and 
adorn it. Hereafter he will convert Jews and Gentiles, 
fill the whole earth with his glory, and raise the dead. 
And is the fulfilment of his promises and the salvation 
of your soul, a harder task than these manifestations of 
his might? 

Trust then in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jeho- 
vah is everlasting strength. Heaven and earth shall pass 
away, but his word shall not pass away. 



CHAPTER VII. 
ON THE WANT OF ASSURANCE OF SALVATION. 



" Forgive my doubts, O gracious Lord! 
And ease the sorrows of my breast; 
Speak to my heart the healing word, 
That thou art mine — and I am blest." 



On the subject of assurance the Christian world has been 
long widely divided. Some have asserted that it is im- 
possible to attain it, and that it is highly presumptuous 
either to ask or expect it : whilst others have affirmed that 
it is not only attainable but absolutely essential to the 
very nature of faith, and perfectly inseparable from a 
state of grace. 

In matters of faith, we are not at liberty to call any 
man master. We have the Scriptures in our own hands : 
and by the authority of Him who gave them, we are com- 
manded to search them, and to try by the law and the 
testimony every principle and every practice which are 
recommended to our belief and observance. On examin- 
ing these conflicting opinions by the unerring standard of 
revelation, we shall find that neither the one nor the other 
is strictly correct. We shall find that, though the assu- 
rance of salvation is neither essential to the nature of faith 
nor inseparable from a state of grace, it is a blessing 
which has been attained, which is still attainable, and 
which it is the duty of every believer to labour to secure. 

We affirm, 

L That the assurance of salvation is neither essential 



119 

to the nature of faith, nor inseparable from a state of 
grace. 

It must be observed that there is a wide difference be- 
twixt the assurance of faith, and the assurance of hope or 
salvation. The assurance of faith is the belief, the per- 
suasion, or conviction of the truth and certainty of what 
God has revealed in his word. This is an assurance 
which is absolutely essential to the nature of faith, and 
without which we cannot justly be denominated believers 
at all. If we doubt or discredit what the Scriptures con- 
tain, we are unbelievers. If from the proposition, "God 
so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, 
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but 
have everlasting life;" we take away the certainty of what 
it states, or in other words, the assurance of the facts 
which it affirms: what is the consequence? We must 
either deny these precious truths entirely, or else be left 
in a state of awful uncertainty whether God has loved the 
world, whether he has given his only begotten Son for our 
salvation, and whether faith possesses any connexion with 
eternal life. And in the same manner, if we are not firm- 
ly convinced of the truth and certainty of every promise 
and declaration of the Bible, we cannot be said to believe 
them. We in reality are unbelievers ; and expose our- 
selves to all the dreadful consequences of rejecting the 
testimony of the God of truth. 

We may therefore safely maintain that the assurance of 
faith, or a clear and full conviction of the reality of the 
truth believed, is absolutely essential to the nature of 
fath. In fact, this assurance and faith are one and the 
same thing. And none who understands the meaning of 
the language, will ever hesitate for a moment to admit that 
it is absolutely necessary to the existence of religion in 
the heart. Faith, and the assurance of faith, are only two 
names for the same thing. 

But the assurance of hope, or of salvation, is quite ano- 
ther matter. This does not consist in the belief of what 
the Scriptures reveal, but in the knowledge which a Chris- 
tian possesses of his own interest in the blessings of the 
Gospel and of his own right to eternal life. It is of this 



120 

assurance that we aver, that it is neither essential to the na- 
ture of faith, nor inseparable from a state of grace. To 
assert the contrary, would be to affirm that the essence of 
faith consists in the belief of our own salvation; that there 
is no need of the agency of the Holy Spirit to maintain 
our peace and joy; that the hope and comfort of believers 
can never be disturbed nor destroyed by temptation ; that 
all who labour under doubts and fears are in a state of 
condemnation; and that those who are confident and se- 
cure respecting their everlasting happiness are safe. But 
are these propositions consistent with either the letter or 
spirit of the inspired records? 

1. If the assurance of salvation were essential to the 
nature of faith, and inseparable from a state of grace; 
then the essence of faith would consist in a belief of our 
own salvation. 

The Scriptures however represent the essence of faith 
to consist, not in a belief of our own justification, accept- 
ance with God, nor salvation ; but in a belief of the testi- 
mony of God, of the record which he has given concern- 
ing his Son. They describe faith by coming unto Christ, 
by fleeing for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before 
us, receiving Christ, believing on him, and trusting in him. 
Saving faith may therefore be said to be, not a mere belief 
of the truth in general, but such a belief as leads the 
soul to apply to the Lord Jesus Christ, for spiritual life 
and salvation, and to rely on him for all the purposes for 
which he is offered to us in the gospel. 

Now, though from this act of the soul assurance of sal- 
vation may, and ought to result ; it is at the same time 
evident that, however closely related, they are neither ra- 
dically the same, nor inseparably united. By faith we 
pass from death unto life ; by assurance we know that we 
have become the subjects of this blessed change. By 
faith we believe to the saving of the soul : by assurance we 
know that we have believed through grace. By faith we 
embrace the Saviour, and obtain an interest in all the 
blessings of his salvation: by assurance we know that 
Christ and all his fulness are become our own. 

Now though frequently conjoined, it is obvious that in 



121 

themselves they are totally distinct, and that in the expe- 
rience of christians they often may be separated. Every 
living man has a chance for health : but health and life 
are not inseparable. Every man who is possessed of rea- 
son, is capable of learning : but every rational man is far 
from being a man of literature and science. Some may 
never have enjoyed an opportunity for cultivating their 
minds ; and others, from the bustle of business or the de- 
cay of memory, may have lost much of the learning which 
they had once acquired. And in the same manner, 
though faith and assurance are closely allied, they are 
neither necessarily nor indissolubly connected. Faith 
may sometimes rise to a calm and settled assurance, and 
exult with a joy unspeakable and full of glory; and at 
other times be obliged to contend with weakness and im- 
perfection, with doubts and fears. In some cases the 
Christian may know in whom he has believed, and in oth- 
ers be able only to say, Who knows but the Lord may be 
gracious? We may take a medicine fitted to remove our 
malady, under a full persuasion of its efficacy, and yet not 
be conscious for a time of a begun recovery. The well- 
known generosity of a man of philanthropy, who never 
was heard to have rejected a single application, may en- 
courage us in our difficulties to solicit his aid : but till we 
actually receive his assistance, we may have many an 
anxious thought about the success of our petition. And 
a sinner may apply to the Lord Jesus Christ, completely 
convinced of his ability and willingness to save them to 
the uttermost that come to God by him ; and yet be long 
doubtful whether he himself shall be made a partaker of 
salvation with eternal glory. Some may never arrive at 
this blessed hope; and others, who have enjoyed it for a 
season, may afterwards lose it. Many, who at one time 
imagined that their mountain stood strong, and that they 
never should be moved, have soon been perplexed and 
troubled. 

In Scripture, accordingly, we find the assurance of sal- 
vation represented not as the essence, but as one of the 
fruits and effects of faith. For unless this is the case, 
whv do we find those who have already believed through 
11 



122 

grace, exhorted to make their calling and election sure? 
Why are we told, that "being justified by faith we have 
peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; by whom 
also we have access into this grace wherein we stand, 
and rejoice in hope of the glory of God ?" Why do we 
find such kind and animating promises made to those 
who sow in tears, who seek the face of God in sorrow, 
and who are bowed down, and broken in heart? And 
why does St. John declare, "These things have I written 
unto you, that believe on the name of the Son of God, that 
ye may know that ye have eternal life ? If assurance of 
salvation were essential to the nature of faith, and insepa- 
rable from a state of grace ; then every believer would be 
endowed with this inestimable blessing, and it would be 
as superfluous and absurd to exhort the people of God to 
seek it, as to enjoin the innocent to sue for pardon, or 
the seeing to pray for eye-sight. 

To affirm therefore that assurance of salvation is essen- 
tial to the nature of faith, confounds the effect with the 
cause, the fruits and consequences with the nature and 
essence of faith. 

2. To assert that assurance of salvation is essential to 
the nature of faith, supersedes the necessity of the influ- 
ences of the Holy Spirit to maintain our peace and joy. 

The sacred Scriptures, however, intimate, that though 
real religion tends to inspire peace, hope and joy, still as- 
surance does not flow from a work of grace by t any natu- 
ral necessity, as heat from the fire, or light from the body 
of the sun. It is the gift of the Holy Spirit ; who is not 
only the source of spiritual life and vigour, but also the 
author of peace and comfort; and who may give or with- 
hold hope and consolation, in any measure or proportion 
that he knows to be most for his own glory, and our best 
and eternal interests. When our ways please the Lord, 
he makes our enemies be at peace with us. He makes 
his paths towards us mercy and truth, and filL us with a 
peace that passeth all understanding, and a joy that is un- 
speakable, and full of glory. But if we rebel and vex the 
Holy Spirit, he will turn to be our enemy, and fight against 
us. He will withdraw the reviving, strengthening, and 



123 

cheering influences of his grace: and, as all the ingenuity 
of man is utterly unable to produce light to supply the 
place of the sun, so, when he withholds the elevating and 
comforting communications of his love, all the contrivan- 
ces of the Christian are totally inadequate for the removal 
of the trouble which he feels, and the restoration of the 
joys which he has forfeited. 

This is a case of frequent occurrence. For, though by 
the provisions of the everlasting covenant, and the power 
and grace of the Saviour, all the children of God are se- 
cured; yet, to manifest their own weakness, and teach 
them the necessity of habitual and unremitting depend- 
ence upon his care and protection, they are often left to 
bitter and long backslidings. Such, however, is the root- 
ed aversion which he entertains to all sin, that he will not 
allow it to pass with impunity even in his own people. 
If they forsake his law and walk not in his judgments; if 
they break his statutes and keep not his commandments ; 
to awaken them to contrition, to recall them from their 
wanderings, and compel them to return and seek their rest 
and happiness in himself, he gives his judgments a com- 
mission to pursue them, lays bands on their loins, visits 
their transgressions with the rod, and their iniquities with 
stripes, and makes their own wickedness correct them, 
and their backslidings reprove them. Under these pain- 
ful visitations, however, it is sometimes difficult, if not 
impossible, to distinguish betwixt the corrections of a 
friend, and the rebukes of an adversary; betwixt the salu- 
tary chastisements of a parent, and the vindictive inflic- 
tions of a, judge. In these circumstances, though still 
interested in all the riches of redeeming mercy; the be- 
liever, like a child under the frown of his father, is terri- 
fied lest he shall be cast out from the Divine presence, 
and given over to blindness of mind and hardness of 
heart. 

3. If the assurance of salvation be essential to the na- 
ture of faith, and inseparable from a state of grace, the 
hope and comfort of believers can never be destroyed nor 
disturbed by temptation. 

There is however no truth so certain, but what some 



124 

Christian or other has been led, under violent and long 
continued temptation, to call in question. Doubts, at 
times, have been started in their minds of the existence 
of God, of the immortality of the soul, and of the reality 
of the whole Christian system. Now, if believers have 
been induced to suspect these obvious and indisputable 
facts, how much more must they have been found to dis- 
trust the genuineness of their own religion, and their in- 
terest in^the promises of the everlasting Gospel? Can it 
be supposed that they could retain the assurance of their 
salvation, when tempted to entertain doubts of the funda- 
mental principles of natural and revealed religion, and to 
deny the existence of salvation altogether? The most 
holy man, however, that lives, is not beyond the reach of 
Satan's assaults, nor secured against the most foul and 
blasphemous suggestions. If the devil, when he said, "if 
thou be the Son of God," endeavoured to insinuate into 
the mind of our Lord a doubt concerning his Sonship, 
how much more must his followers be liable to suspicions 
and fears respecting their adoption? If the head was 
thus assailed, how sadly must the members suffer? 

4. If the assurance of salvation be essential to the na- 
ture of faith, then every one who labours under doubts 
and fears, must be in a state of condemnation. 

From the Bible, however, we are taught to regard all 
as in a state of grace, and heirs of the great salvation; 
who, from a discovery of their guilt and danger, have 
been compelled to flee for refuge , to lay hold on the hope 
set before them; who have embraced the Lord Jesus 
Christ as all their salvation and all their desire; and whilst 
they rely on him for righteousness and strength, are con- 
strained by his love to crucify the flesh with all its affec- 
tions, and glorify him in their soul, body, and spirit. But 
many who have given the most ample evidence of their 
having been born again, and renewed in the spirit of their 
minds, have been far from always enjoying the comforta- 
ble sense of God's love, and of their interest in the great 
salvation. They have been filled with doubts and fears, 
with alarm and trouble. They have walked in darkness 
mid had no light. They have gone mourning without 



125 

the sun. Like Heman they have been laid in the lowest 
deeps, where the wrath of God has gone over them, and 
where they have trembled lest in his anger he would cut 
them off. With Asaph they have been led to ask, "Will 
the Lord cast off for ever, and be favourable no more 
Is his mercy clean gone for ever, doth his promise fail for 
ever more ?" 

Now, as it is impossible to be neutral; as every man 
who is not a believer must be an unbeliever, it follows, 
either that there are many christians who have no assu- 
rance of their own salvation, or that there are many who 
have all the marks and characters of the people of God ; 
their humility, contrition, their submission to his will, 
their devotedness to his honour, their love for his presence, 
and their longing for spiritual enjoyments, while they are 
in the gall of bitterness and bond of iniquity : a conclu- 
sion which is utterly inconsistent with the letter and spirit 
of the whole sacred volume. 

5. If the assurance of salvation be essential to the na- 
ture of faith, then all who are secure and confident res- 
pecting their everlasting happiness must be safe. 

Nothing, however, appears to be more remote from the 
truth: and I have no hesitation in affirming, not only that 
a man may be in a state of grace whilst destitute of the 
assurance of salvation, but that some christians, who are 
filled with alarm respecting their final condition, are in a 
far more hopeful state, than many who live at their ease, 
and entertain no apprehension about their everlasting fe- 
licity. 

Salvation is an object of infinite importance. It au- 
gurs well of a man to hear of his doubts and fears about 
his eternal welfare. This shows that he has some con- 
cern about the subject, and encourages the hope that he 
is laying it seriously to heart. It is a most alarming cir- 
cumstance to find any man, in an affair of such magni- 
tude, too calm and confident. It naturally excites a sus- 
picion that he has neither part nor lot in the matter: for 
if he were aware of its immense value, he would from time 
to time discover a solicitude to examine the foundation 
of his hope and ascertain the safety of his state. If you 
11* 



126 

see two travellers, the one, without ever looking after his? 
luggage, making a great noise about the treasure which 
it contains ; and the other, without saying much about the 
matter, frequently examining if his baggage be secure ; 
you would be at no loss to pronounce which of them act- 
ed the most rational part, and was likely to be possessed 
of the greatest wealth. And the man who says least 
about his hopes, but gives the greatest diligence to make 
his calling and election sure, is generally more alive to 
religion, and far nearer the kingdom of heaven, than the 
professor, who flatters himself on the safety of his state, 
but is careless about the means of advancing his growth 
in grace, and promoting his progress in holiness and spi- 
rituality. 

Anxiety and alarm are distressing and painful : but 
they are at the same time salutary. If the man is already 
savingly converted, they will soon pass away, and the end 
will be peace : and if he is not yet reconciled to God, if 
they are of a sound and genuine nature, they will never 
leave him till he is established in the faith. But amongst 
all the melancholy objects which we meet, none is so af- 
fecting and overpowering as the sight of men, whose tem- 
per and conduct prove that they are in the gall of bitter- 
ness and bond of iniquity ; and yet are perfectly secure 
and easy ; and, in spite of every remonstrance , persevere 
in the lulling and deceitful cry of Peace, peace, till their 
feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and the shadows 
of death close for ever around them. If the Christian be 
possessed of the assurance of faith; hypocrites and for- 
malists have the confidence of presumption ; and the blind 
boldness of the latter is often far more impregnable, than 
the peace and hope of the former. Whilst the strong man 
armed keepeth his house, there is frequently as great quiet- 
ness within, as when it is brought under the power of a 
stronger than he. The dearest of God's saints have at 
times been in perplexity and despondence ; when the fool- 
ish virgins were secure; and those who were farthest 
from acceptance with God, show by their address to our 
Redeemer, in the day of judgment, that they entertained 
the firmest persuasion of their safety. "Lord, Lord, have 



127 

we not prophesied in thy name, and in thy name have 
cast out devils, and in thy name have done many wonder- 
ful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never 
knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." 

If therefore the essence of faith consists, not in our 
confidence of our safety ; but in the reliance of the soul 
upon Christ, for salvation; if assurance of our interest in 
the love of God is the gift of the Holy Ghost, and forfeit- 
ed by our secure and careless walk ; if during bitter and 
violent temptation, without losing our relation to the Sa- 
viour, we may not only be deprived of the hope of heaven, 
but even of the exercise of faith itself; if many of the 
people of God have been compelled to walk in darkness 
without light, while they continued dear to his heart; and 
above all, if some Christians, who are filled with alarms 
and fears respecting their everlasting interest, are in a far 
more hopeful condition, than many professors, who live 
at their ease and have the most absolute confidence in 
their final felicity : then we are warranted to conclude 
that die assurance of salvation is neither essential to the 
nature of faith, nor inseparable from a state of grace; and 
that a man may be a child of God and an heir of heaven, 
though at times uncertain of his situation, and apprehen- 
sive of the issue of his hopes and expectations. 

Having thus endeavoured to provide for the comfort 
and establishment of those whose souls are broken and 
bowed down, from an apprehension that they are in a 
graceless condition, because they are destitute of the assu- 
rance of salvation; in faithfulness to a far more numerous 
class, and who are in a fir more dangerous situation, I 
must now show, 

II. That the assurance of salvation is a blessing which 
has been attained, and which is still attainable. 

That this is the case we may infer, 

1. From the love which the Lord Jesus Christ bears to 
his people. 

He has loved them with an everlasting love, and there- 
fore with loving-kindness he has drawn them. From 
love to us he left the throne of heaven, assumed our na- 



128 

ture , suffered, bled, and died. From love to us he rose 
from the dead, ascended to the right hand of the Majesty 
on high, watches over all our interests, guides us by his 
counsel, protects us by his power, and keeps us as the ap- 
ple of his eye. Now, can we suppose that he has so long 
taken such a deep and tender interest in our welfare; 
and that during the whole of our pilgrimage, he will con- 
ceal from us every discovery of his peculiar and endear- 
ing love ?* Would he die for our redemption, and with 
the feelings of a brother, intercede for us in the presence 
of his father; and after all, leave us, till our dying day, in 
a state of painful uncertainty whether we shall be saved 
or lost? We cannot for a moment entertain such a harsh 
and dishonourable thought. For the correction of our 
faults, or the trial of our faith and patience, he may for a 
season withdraw the light of his countenance, and involve 
us in perplexity and trouble. But the strong affection 
which he bears us, the numerous and costly proofs which 
he has given of his strong and everlasting regard, are all a 
security and pledge that sooner or later we shall be honour- 
ed with the manifestation of his favour, and blessed with a 
foretaste of our future and eternal joy. 

That believers may arrive at a knowledge of their sal- 
vation may be inferred, 

2, From the change which they undergo at regenera - 
tion. 

When we are admitted into the family of God, we not 
only receive a new name, but are likewise made partak- 
ers of a new nature. We are not only invested with a 
title to the kingdom of heaven, but also with a meetness 
for the inheritance of the saints in light. Old habits are 
broken off, and new ones formed. We are made to dis- 
like the things which we formerly loved, and pursue the 
things which we previously shunned and hated. We are 
made to experience a radical and total transformation : 
for "if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature ; old 
things are passed away; behold all things are become 
new. And so absolutely essential is this renovation of na- 
ture, and this conformity to the image of the Saviour, to 
the existence of religion in the heart, that, "if any man 
have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." 



129 

Now, shall a man undergo such a great and astonish- 
ing change; and after all be unable to ascertain its exist- 
ence? Shall we be renewed in the spirit of our minds, 
created again in Christ Jesus unto good works, and ren- 
dered not merely reformed or altered men, but new crea- 
tures ; and after all, are we to imagine that it is impossi- 
ble in any case to arrive at a knowledge of the fact, and 
that we must through the whole of life remain ignorant of 
this blessed and gracious transformation? 

If any great alteration takes place in our outward cir- 
cumstances; if from a state of poverty we are raised to 
affluence; if from pining sickness we are restored to 
health; if by patient application to study, from being ig- 
norant and illiterate, we acquire literature and science; 
we soon become sensible of the agreeable improvement. 
The delightful transition is not published to the world, 
and concealed from ourselves : we are the first to know 
it. And shall we imagine that a man may be the subject 
of the greatest of all changes ; that from being a sinner 
he shall become a saint ; that from being careless about his 
soul, and the adorable Redeemer, he shall be in earnest 
for eternal life, and regard Jesus as all his salvation and 
all his desire; and yet never be able to discover the inter- 
esting and momentous fact? 

The change may be accomplished suddenly or slowly; 
it may be produced openly and visibly; or take place in 
a manner secret and unobserved : for there are diversities 
of operations : and in forming the soul anew, the Holy 
Spirit is not confined to any particular mode, nor restrain- 
ed by any fixed and immutable law. He acts according 
to the good pleasure of his will. But still, in whatever 
way the change takes place, at whatever age, or by what 
ever means it is accomplished, the consequences are great 
and lasting; so that from the effect we are at no loss to 
ascertian the nature and reality of the cause. The de- 
scent of the dew may escape observation : but when we 
see it lying on the grass all around, we are certain that it 
must have fallen. A child can give no account of the 
commencement of his existence, nor of the time and man- 
ner in which his soul joined his body : but no sooner does 



130 

he arrive at the exercise of reason, than he is convinced 
that his being must have had a beginning, and that at 
some time or other his soul must have been united to his 
body. And the Christian too may be unable to tell ex- 
actly by what means he was brought to the knowledge of 
the truth, or to describe distinctly how the blessed change 
began, and was carried on. He may have learned much 
from one sermon, and more from another. He may have 
profited much by one exercise or ordinance, and more by 
another. "So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should 
cast seed into the ground ; and should sleep and rise night 
and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he 
knoweth not how: for the earth bringeth forth fruit of 
herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full 
corn in the ear." But though unable to describe the pro- 
cess, by which he wag brought from nature to grace : yet 
when he is established in the faith, he must find a great 
and total difference betwixt what he was once and what 
he is now; so that, like the man whom our Lord had cured 
of his blindness, who declared, " One thing I know, that, 
whereas I was blind, now I see;" when the believer 
takes a calm and enlightened survey of his present state in 
contrast with his past condition, he also will be able to 
say, "One thing I know, that, whereas by nature I neither 
knew God nor loved him, the desire of my heart is now 
to him and to the remembrance of his name ; whereas I 
walked according to the course of this world, and lived in 
the vanity of my mind ; now my heart's desire and prayer 
are, that Christ may be magnified in me, whether that 
shall be by life or by death : for whom have I in heaven 
but thee? and there is none upon earth whom I desire 
besides thee." And if such is the result which a Chris- 
tian's examination of his own experience is calculated to 
afford; is it not obvious that the assurance of salvation 
may at times be attained, and that the Spirit himself will 
bear witness with our spirits, that we are the children of 
God? 

3, Assurance is a blessing which has been attained. 

In the Psalms we frequently find David speaking of his 
gracious relation to God: calling himself his servant, and 



131 

the Lord the portion of his inheritance. With all the 
confidence and calmness of one who had the witness in 
himself that he was born from above, and that he was an 
heir of the righteousness of faith, he declares on his death- 
bed, that God had made with him an everlasting covenant, 
ordered in all things, and sure. Job possessed the same 
exalted and delightful attainment, when he said, " I know 
that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the 
latter day upon the earth ; and though after my skin worms 
destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God ; whom 
I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and 
not another." And did not Paul too enjoy the same sub- 
lime and animating confidence, when he said, " I know 
whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able 
to keep that which I have committed unto him against 
that day ?" Was it not in consequence of this assurance 
that he declared, " I am crucified with Christ ; neverthe- 
less I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me, and the life 
which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the 
Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me?" 
Was it not under the influence of the same strong and 
glorious hope, that on the survey of his long career, and 
the near prospect of its violent and bloody termination, 
with holy boldness and sacred triumph he said, " I have 
fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have 
kept the faith : henceforth there is laid up for me a crown 
of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, 
shall give me at that day?" 

From such language, it is evident that these holy 
men had no doubt of their own interest in the covenant 
of grace. And is it credible that this precious blessing 
was imparted to them, and that it will be withheld from 
others, who walk in their steps and are partakers of their 
faith? Is there partiality or respect of persons with God? 
Shall one man be saved by grace through faith ; and shall 
another man, who cleaves to grace through faith, be lost? 
and shall one man by the exercise of faith on the Son 01 
God, arrive at the assurance of his own eternal safety; and 
shall another man, who seeks the same blessing in the 
same manner, be prevented from ever reaching it? 



132 

That this blessing was intended for the benefit of all 
feelievers who seek it, in the manner which God has pre- 
scribed in his word, is manifest, 

4. From the exhortations which in Scripture are given 
to seek it. 

In one place we are exhorted to "give diligence to make 
our calling and election sure ;" and in another to " give 
the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the 
end." But if it be impossible to secure a knowledge of 
our own salvation, for wh-at purpose were these injunc- 
tions left on record ? Were they written merely to tanta- 
lize us with empty and fallacious hopes, and excite our 
industry in a direction absolutely unavailing? Men 
destitute of sensibility, and completely hardened in crime, 
may sport with the feelings of their fellow-creatures, and 
amuse them with hopes which they never intend to real- 
ize: but the Father of mercies and the God of love never 
enjoins any duty that is impracticable, nor inspires any 
expectations which he has no intention to fulfil? 

On the same principle therefore on which I believe 
that truth, honesty, and sobriety, are all practicable duties, 
because they are inculcated in the Bible ; from the ex- 
hortations to make our calling and election sure, and to 
give diligence to the full assurance of hope, I am also 
obliged to believe that the assurance of salvation is an at- 
tainable blessing. These injunctions to seek it are a 
pledge of the love and veracity of the Lord, that, if we 
employ the diligence which he has prescribed, and in the 
manner which he has directed, we shall not labour in vain, 
nor spend our strength for nought, but shall most certain- 
ly "know, if we follow on to know the Lord.'" 

This conclusion is confirmed, 

5. By the promises of God. 

"The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him, and 
he will shew them his covenant. He that believeth hath 
the witness in himself." Believers are represented as 
possessing the first-fruits of the Spirit; as knowing their 
calling and election of God ; as rejoicing in hope of his 
glory; as now the sons of God, but that it doth not yet 
appear what they shall be; as knowing that they are of 



133 

God, and as having fellowship with the Father and with 
his Son Jesus Christ. And our blessed Lord himself de- 
clares, " He that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, 
and I will love him, and manifest myself to him. If a 
man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father 
will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our 
abode with him." 

From all these circumstances taken together; from the 
love of Christ to his people ; from the nature of regenera- 
tion ; from the example of the saints ; from the exhorta- 
tions and promises of Scripture, we are warranted to 
maintain that the assurance of hope is an attainable bless- 
ing. 

I must go farther, and add, that, 

III. It is the duty of every Christian to labour to se- 
cure it. 

The duty of seeking this blessing will appear by con- 
sidering either the command of God, or the multiplied 
advantages with which the assurance of salvation is at- 
tended. 

1. The command of God on the subject is clear and 
explicit. And when nothing more than his authority is 
requisite to render any practice or pursuit our binding 
and indispensable duty; after he has so distinctly and 
forcibly enjoined us to make our calling and election 
sure, and to give diligence to the full assurance of hope, 
it must be at our peril, if we despise or neglect a precept 
so express and solemn. 

2. The advantages with which the assurance of salva- 
tion is attended, are numerous and invaluable. 

It dignifies and ennobles the soul. For what can raise 
the mind to a higher elevation; give it a more decisive 
superiority over all that is low, grovelling and base; or fill 
it with a more exalted and delightful consciousness of its 
own real dignity, its renovated grandeur, and the boundless 
extent of the glory and felicity to which it shall ultimate- 
ly rise ; than to know that we are the children of God, 
the brethren of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the heirs of 
his eternal kingdom? Can any honour or distinction be 
12 



134 

more joyous and transporting, than to have a sense of 
our reconciliation to God, and of our interest in redeem- 
ing love, demonstrated to our understanding, and impress- 
ed upon our hearts; and to be able, amidst all the duties 
and labours, the trials and distresses of life, to say, "This 
God is my God for ever and ever, and Jesus is my belov- 
ed and my friend ?" 

It sanctifies and purifies the heart, and renders its pos- 
sessor active in the cause of God and goodness. Having 
the love of God shed abroad in his soul by the Holy 
Ghost, and possessed of the spirit of adoption, the believer 
feels an alliance to Deity, breathes the air of paradise, has 
a fellowship with the happy spirits before the throne, and 
transfuses into his temper and conduct, something of the 
unsullied purity and seraphic ardour, which adorn the 
characters, and dignify the services of the inhabitants of 
heaven. Where was there a man that ever rose higher in 
faith, or love, or holiness; a man whose soul was more 
completely free from the dross and dregs of mortality; a 
man who followed the Lord more fully, and was more 
zealously devoted to his honour; a man who had ac- 
quired more of an angel's mind, and possessed more of 
the spirit of his adorable Master, than Paul? But the 
great spring of all his activity, the rich source of all his 
consolations, the grand impelling principle which carried 
him forward with such matchless energy in his divine ca- 
reer, was a knowledge of his union to the Lord Jesus Christ, 
and of his interest in the great salvation. "The love of 
Christ," says he, "constraineth me. I know whom I have 
believed. The life that I live, I live by the faith of the 
Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." 
And did we possess the same blessed assurance in the 
same high and solid degree, it would still produce the 
same glorious and transforming effects. 

It supports and cheers the mind under the various 
trials and distresses of life. Without this assurance, the 
mind, in a time of trouble and danger, is in a state of per- 
petual agitation and distraction; like a wave of the sea 9 
driven with the wind and tossed. But this assurance 
proves an anchor to the soul, which keeps it sure and 



135 

steadfast; gives stability to the sublime and bliss-creating 
expectations of the mind; and preserves it, amidst all the 
attacks and all the foes that can assail it, in perfect seren- 
ity and unbroken peace. Our condition may be low, 
and our lot calamitous; our wordly affairs may be in dis- 
order, and our friends may prove false and treacherous ; the 
dear companions of our youth may be sleeping in the dust 
and our once happy habitations may be laid in darkness 
and desolation by the ravages of death ; but none of these 
things can move us, when we know that we have God for 
our portion^ Jesus for our Saviour, and heaven for our 
inheritance and home. By disclosing the extent of our 
security, and giving a present subsistence to the objects 
of our hopes, it disarms adversity of its gloom, death of 
its sting, and the grave of its horrors. It has carried 
thousands comfortably, joyfully, through the greatest fight 
of afflictions, and brought them off with more than victory. 
It will enable us to take a calm and steady survey of all 
the terrific forms in which tribulation can possibly assault 
us, and then to say, in the intrepid tone and holy triumph 
of the Apostle, " Who shall separate us from the love of 
Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or 
famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Nay, in all these 
things we are more than conquerors, through him that 
loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, 
nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things pre- 
sent, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any 
other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love 
of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.'" 



CHAPTER VIII. 

ON DISTRESS ARISING FROM THE REMAINS OF 
CORRUPTION. 



" Cleanse me, O Lord, and cheer my soul 
With thy forgiving love; 
Oh make my broken spirit whole. 
And bid my fears begone." 



There is nothing on which the hearts of Christians are 
more strongly and intensely set than holiness. Their 
great ambition is to be conformed to the will of God. 
They are delighted with every additional spiritual attain- 
ment which they gain; and rejoice in the prospect of hea- 
ven, because there they shall be like Christ, for they shall 
see him as he is. 

But sin is the abominable thing which they hate : and 
in proportion to the degree in which they love holiness, 
are the pain and self-abasement which they feel when pre- 
vented from reaching the sacred elevations which they 
admire, and the shame and consternation which they ex- 
perience when betrayed into the offences which they ab- 
hor. Could we follow them into their closets we should 
find them prostrate before the Lord , complaining in all the 
bitterness of the most oppressive vexation that they can- 
not do the things that they would, that they are beset with 
temptations, and overtaken with iniquity. 

When, time after time, the corruption, which th°y hoped 
was subdued or entirely eradicated, breaks out, and sur- 
prises them by its power and prevalence ; they suspect 
that their religion is delusive, and that they are still in all 
the guilt, degradation, and wretchedness of a natural con^ 



137 

dition. If their religion were real, they believe that they 
would be growing in grace, going from strength to 
strength, shining in the beauties of holiness, and abound- 
ing in the fruits of righteousness. Their frequent falls 
and gross imperfections lead them to fear that they are far 
from God and far from hope. 

On the subject of indwelling-sin two opinions have 
been advanced, alike opposite to the dictates of inspira- 
tion, and hostile to the interests of practical godliness. 
Whilst some, greatly to the grief of the children of God, 
have maintained that believers in the present life rise su- 
perior to the remains of corruption,- others with equal 
positiveness, to the lamentable encouragement of care- 
lessness and security, contend that religion consists in an 
assent to the truths of Christianity; and that, whatever 
may be a man's spirit and practice, as long as he retains 
this assent he is in a state of safety. 

In order to disentangle this subject from embarrass- 
ment and perplexity, and at once to prevent the licen- 
tious perversion of the doctrine of indwelling-sin, and 
provide for the establishment and comfort of the believer 
who suspects that he is in a state of condemnation because 
he is molested with the remains of corruption; it will be 
necessary to show: 

I. That religion produces a great change upon the char- 
acter. 

II. That it does not in this life make the Christian per- 
fect: but 

III. That amidst all his falls and infirmities, he is es- 
sentially different from the irreligious and carnal. 

I. Religion produces a great and thorough change up- 
on the character of those who embrace it. 

It does not bestow merely the remission of sins, but 
likewise a renewal of naiure. Were we to assert that it 
imparted no more than the forgiveness of iniquity, the 
consequences would be most horrid and ruinous. If by 
a mere assent to the doctrines of the Gospel men obtain- 
ed the pardon of all their trespasses, without being laid 
12* 



138 

under any obligation to love and serve God, or brought to 
devote themselves to a life of piety and holiness; this 
would open the flood-gates of vice, and make Christ the 
minister of sin. And what a perversion is this of the 
blessed Gospel! and what an insufferable insult to our 
adorable Redeemer and Lord! Did he come into the 
world, endure the outrage of ungodly men, submit to the 
agonies of Gethsemane and the tortures of the cross, to 
save us in our sins? to form by his mediation a high- 
way, along which, in hourly succession, the vices and 
crimes, bad passions and bad tempers of earth, might be 
conveyed into heaven, and the kingdom of God filled with 
all the filth and impurity that darken and disgrace our 
globe? He came to save us from our sins; to destroy the 
works of the devil ; to purify to himself a peculiar people 
zealous of good works. He came, not to crowd heaven 
with the trash, scum, and offscourings of this world ; but 
with a people who are redeemed from all iniquity, who 
are conformed to his own image, and who have washed 
their robes, and made them white in his blood. 

If the forgiveness of sins and a right to eternal life 
be all that is necessary for our salvation, what is the use of 
the Holy Ghost? Why has he been sent down to renew 
us in the spirit of our minds, to create us again in Christ 
Jesus unto good works, to create in us clean hearts, and 
renew right spirits within us? If any man be in Christ 
he is a new creature. The renovation of our nature is as 
indispensable to salvation, as faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. 
We are just as distinctly told, that except a man be born 
again, he shall not see the kingdom of God, as that he 
that belie veth not shall be damned. He that sanctifieth, 
and they who are sanctified are all of one, for which cause 
he is not ashamed to call them brethren. Jesus was holy, 
harmless, and undefiled, and separate from sinners. And 
the Scriptures assure us, that if any man have not the 
spirit of Christ he is none of his. 

The society and services of heaven are pure and holy. 
What enjoyment could a carnal mind derive from its in^ 
exhaustible sources of ecstacy and bliss ? or what fitness 
could it possess for the sublime and ennobling employ- 



139 

merits of that blissful world? To the unregenerate soul, 
all these ineffable delights are insipid, or rather disgusting 
and odious. The Sabbath is a weariness. Prayer and 
religious exercises are offensive or intolerable. And 
what satisfaction could men in such a state receive from 
all the elevating services, and overwhelming splendour of 
celestial glory? The dissipated have no pleasure in the 
comfort of sobriety, nor the illiterate in the disclosures of 
learning and science. What fellowship hath righteous- 
ness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath 
light with darkness? 

Did those who, in former ages, believed on Jesus, neg- 
lect good works? Did those who have already entered 
into the regions of everlasting rest, gain admission there 
without a clean heart and a right spirit? or do any of the 
faithful now on earth, treat the obligations of piety with 
indifference, or shew a contempt for the claims of enlight- 
ened beneficence, and practical godliness? The faithful 
in former ages laboured to adorn the Gospel by the be- 
nignity of their tempers, and the holiness of their lives : 
and those in the present day who are reconciled unto God 
by the Gospel of his Son, are careful to purify themselves 
even as he is pure. They have their conversation in hea- 
ven and their fruit unto holiness. They live by faith and 
walk with God. Having the hope that when Christ shall 
appear, they shall be like him, they purify themselves even 
as he is pure. 

But whilst religion makes a great and thorough change 
upon the heart and conduct of those who embrace it; for 
the relief of those who suspect that they are in a graceless 
condition, because they are harassed with the remains of 
corruption, it must be observed, that, 

II. The sanctification, or holiness of believers, is never 
complete in the present life. 

The Bible uniformly represents religion as a progres- 
sive principle ; which can be strengthened and improved 
by care and culture, but which never in this world reach- 
es full maturity and perfection. The righteous holdeth 
on his way, and he that hath clean hands waxeth stronger 



140 

and stronger. Through every step of his pilgrimage, and 
to the very last hour of his life, the believer is followed by 
the obligation to go from strength to strength, to forget 
those things which are behind, and reach forth unto those 
things which are before. The most holy and heavenly- 
minded man on this side of the world of glory, finds that 
he has not fulfilled all the duties which he owes to God ; 
nor secured all the spiritual attainments to which he has 
access : and that however great his services, or multiplied 
his enjoyments, he is bound to be still growing in grace, 
and increasing in the knowledge of God. 

So far from discharging every trust and crowding every 
spiritual acquisition into their possession, the best and 
holiest of men discover that in many things they offend, 
and in all that they sin and come short of the glory of 
God. It was not Saul, Absalom, Ahithophel, nor any of 
the profligate and abandoned in the court or the country 
of Judea; but David, the anointed of the God of Jacob, 
the sweet singer of Israel, the man after God's own heart, 
who exclaimed, "Iniquities prevail against me : who can un- 
derstand his errors? Cleanse thou me from secret faults." 
And it was not Demas the apostate, nor Judas the traitor; 
but Paul, the steadfast adherent of the faith, the zealous 
and indefatigable apostle of the cross, who cried out, 
a O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from 
the body of this death?" After his unrivalled labours and 
appalling sufferings in the service of his Master, and the 
multiplied and invaluable proofs which he had received of 
his presence and favour; we hear him declaring that he 
had not attained, neither was already perfect. Through- 
out the whole of life he found a law, that, when he would 
do good, evil was present with him : and while he delight- 
ed in the law of God after the inward man, he saw ano- 
ther law in his members, warring against the law of his 
mind, and bringing him into captivity to the law of sin 
which was in his members. 

So far from arriving at perfection in this life, I have no 
hesitation in affirming that believers are frequently pre- 
vented from doing the good which they love and admire, 
and betrayed into the evils which they dread and abhor 



141 

1. They are frequently prevented from doing the good 
which they love and admire. 

It is indeed no difficult matter to perform the external 
duties of religion. While they have eyes, it is easy to 
read the Scriptures. While they have ears, they expe- 
rience no hardship in listening to the preaching of the Gos- 
pel. While they have money, they are at no loss to give 
alms. And while they retain the use of their reason, 
they encounter no obstacle in framing their words into 
the shape of a petition, and uttering them in the style of 
prayer. But all these are the mere form and shadow of 
Christianity. The life and essence of religion consist in 
the exercise of the heart: and when this animating prin- 
ciple is wanting, the most splendid and costly round of 
outward observances is as dead and useless, as the body 
when the soul has fled. God is a spirit, and they that wor- 
ship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. 

And knowing that God is a spirit, and delighting in 
him after the inward man; if he could get his wish every 
believer would serve him with his spirit. He would never 
pray, but as with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven : 
he would never look at the cross, but with a bleeding and 
broken heart : he would never utter a sentence of thanks- 
giving, without lifting up his soul with his song of praise: 
he would never approach a religious ordinance, without 
going to God, to God his exceeding joy. If he could, he 
would stand complete in all the will of God. He would 
eradicate every remnant of evil from his nature : extir- 
pate vice from the globe : fill the whole earth with the 
glory of the Lord : be perpetually employed in works of 
faith and labours of love ; and never embark in a duty 
nor engage in any undertaking, without throwing his 
whole heart and soul into the service, and rivalling the 
spirituality and fervour of the just made perfect, and the 
enraptured hosts who encircle the throne of the Eternal. 

But can he do the things that be would ? Can he give 
to the great and adorable Jehovah all the glory due unto 
his name, and all the homage and obedience that he longs 
to render ? Is there at this moment breathing within the 
confines of the planet which we occupy, or is there to be 



142 

found within the records of time, a single believer who 
has obtained all the holiness that he could covet? who has 
done all the good that he could desire? and who, till he 
enter the regions of light, could solicit no accession to 
his religious virtues and spiritual enjoyments? So far 
from having acquired all the holiness and spirituality which 
he could wish ; where is a single day, or a single action 
in the whole life of the most heavenly-minded saint, in 
which he is satisfied with his performances? in which he 
can say that he has faithfully done his duty, and ful- 
ly discharged every obligation which he owes to his Sa- 
viour and his God? in which he can declare that the law 
can demand no more than what he has actually yielded it, 
and that the eye of Omniscience can detect no flaw either 
in the work which he has done, or in the spirit and temper 
with which he has fulfilled it? 

The language of the saint, after the performance of 
even the best and noblest service that ever was accom- 
plished by human agency, is, u Enter not into judgment 
with thy servant : for in thy sight shall no flesh be justified. 
Remember me, O my God, concerning this also, and 
spare me according to the greatness of thy mercy." After 
he has done his utmost, he finds that he has done less than 
he should : that he has done it very imperfectly, and that 
he must have recourse to God for the forgiveness of the 
sinfulness with which it has been attended. 

But this is not the worst of the matter. Indwelling- 
sin not only prevents believers from doing the good which 
they love, but, 

2. Frequently betrays them into the evil which they 
fear and hate. 

Passion, pride, and peevishness, beset us. Impatience, 
fretfulness, and discontentment, spring up and trouble us. 
Irritation, anger, and censoriousness, often surprise and 
overpower us. If the brightest day has had its clouds, 
and the finest weather its haze and its showerr ; the best 
and holiest characters have had their faults and imper- 
fections. 

Weaknesses and inconsistencies have appeared, not on* 
ly in the lives of ordinary professors, men of an inferior 



143 

rank in. religion; but also in the conduct of men, who by 
their faith and piety had risen to the highest elevation in 
the Divine life, and who might have been expected to 
have most completely escaped the pollutions that are in 
the world. These eminent saints have been seduced in- 
to sin, not at the commencement of their course, when 
they had little knowledge of the deceitfulness and power 
of their remaining corruptions ; but after they had long 
walked on the road to Zion, tasted largely of the Divine 
condescension and kindness, and experienced much of 
the glorious liberty of the sons of God. Just when they 
had been distinguished by the most signal mercies; when 
it might have been hoped that their hearts would have 
been overflowing with the warmest love and gratitude to 
the adorable Giver of all good, and most firmly and affec- 
tionately rivetted to his honour and interest ; then was the 
time that they were guilty of their most foul and lamenta- 
ble falls. 

And if these men were overcome in such circumstan- 
ces by the sin that dwelt in them, who can expect to es- 
cape all the arts of this watchful and wily adversary? 
Who can ever hope to possess a stronger principle of 
grace, to be honoured with more elevating intercourse 
with the most High, to be blessed with more precious 
communications of his favour, and more richly furnished 
with all that is requisite for his perseverance and stability, 
than Noah and Abraham, Moses and David, Hezekiah and 
Peter? Are we more sincere and upright than Noah, 
who had this testimony, that he was perfect in his genera- 
tions and walked with God? Are we stronger in the 
faith than the father of the faithful? Have we a greater 
command of our feelings and temper, than the meekest 
man upon earth? Are we more humble, self-denied, and 
spiritually-minded than David? Are we more solicitous 
to comply with the whole will of God, and to maintain 
the Divine life in our soul, than Hezekiah, who could ap- 
peal to Omniscience that he had walked before him in 
truth and with a perfect heart? Or are we possessed of a 
greater degree of zeal for his honour and resolution in his 
service than Peter, who believed that he was able to go to 



144 

prison and death for his sake, and who at last laid down 
his life in his cause? When therefore we see such men 
as these, who had been long conversant with all the oc- 
currences of the spiritual warfare, who well knew the 
depths of Satan, who for years had withstood the power 
and policy of inherent corruption, and who were so fully 
prepared to encounter and repel its assaults ; when we see 
such men as these foiled and defeated, the stoutest heart 
may justly tremble, and the most exalted and courage- 
ous in all the ranks of the faithful take heed lest he also 
fall. 

But notwithstanding all the falls and imperfections of 
the Christian, we must maintain, 

III. That there is a wide and essential difference be- 
twixt him and the irreligious and carnal. 

After God has loved his people with an everlasting love, 
and sent his own Son to redeem them ; is it credible that 
no moral difference shall be created betwixt the objects of 
his affection and the objects of his displeasure ; and that 
nothing more is necessary to make us meet for the inherit- 
ance of the saints in light, than to fit us for occupying a 
place in the regions of darkness and despair? After the Ho- 
ly Ghost has been commissioned to renovate our natures, 
and form us after the image of our Lord Jesus Christ; are 
we to suppose that he finds our hearts too hard and re- 
fractory to yield to his soul-subduing and purifying power; 
and that in spite of all his efforts to mould us anew, and 
bring us to the love and practice of holiness, he is obliged 
to leave us under the same rankling and debasing virulence 
of depravity and vice as the hardened and abandoned? 
Though we are told that the kingdom of God is within 
us, and that if any man be in Christ he is a new creature; 
are we notwithstanding to imagine that a man may be a 
Christian, that he may be joined to the Lord Jesus, and 
have Christ formed in him the hope of glory ■ and yet af- 
ter all that there shall be no difference betwixt his temper 
and conduct, and those of a man who is without God and 
without hope? 

A real Christian accordingly gives, in various ways, the 



145 

most ample and satisfactory evidence that he is living un- 
der the power of religion. 

1. The sins, into which he is betrayed, in general, are 
inward and spiritual. 

Gross and open wickedness is absolutely inconsistent 
with a state of grace, and proves that the man who com- 
mits it is dead in trespasses and sins. They that are in 
the flesh cannot please God. But believers are not in the 
flesh, but in the Spirit. However dreadful and horrid, 
outward transgression gives them comparatively little or 
no uneasiness. Having their hearts exercised unto god- 
liness, and their hands filled with the work of the Lord, 
they are seldom molested with the apprehension that they 
shall dishonour his adorable name by any flagrant and vis- 
ible violation of his law. 

Amidst the many causes of their secret humiliation 
and tears, it is rarely indeed that any of the offences 
which the world calls sin, constitute a ground of their 
self-abasement and sorrow. They may labour under a 
want of love, spirituality, and fervour: but no man can 
charge them with a defect in justice, integrity, and chari- 
ty. They may be haunted with wild, worldly, and wan- 
dering thoughts : but no dark nor ungodly deeds disgrace 
them. They cannot reach that elevation of mind which 
they admire, nor give to God all that lively and affection- 
ate service which they delight to render: but their hearts 
cannot reproach them with any act of intemperance or 
profanity, of fraud or villany. Their rejoicing is this, the 
testimony of their conscience, that in simplicity and godly 
sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of 
God, they have had their conversation in the world. 

But whilst they are diligent in the improvement of 
every religious privilege, and in the discharge of every 
moral duty; whilst they are shining in the beauties of 
holiness, and abounding in the fruits of righteousness; 
they are ashamed and grieved because they cannot throw 
their whole heart and soul into their services ; nor enliven 
and enrich their performances with all that warmth, eleva- 
tion, spirituality, and unction, which compose the very es- 
sence of devotion, and are so precious in the sight of God. 
13 



146 

They cannot rest on him so simply, realize his presence 
so fully, cleave to him so closely, delight in him so ardent- 
ly, enjoy him so largely, pour out their hearts to him so 
freely, nor glorify him so effectually, as he requires, and 
the attainment of which would constitute their joy and re- 
joicing. Their love frequently languishes, their faith wa- 
vers, their minds wander, their zeal and vigilance abate ; 
insensibility and formality creep over their affections, eat 
out the very strength and substance of their duties, and 
fill their spirits with distress and perplexity. 

It is for these things that their souls are sore and bro- 
ken and bowed down within them, and that they go 
mourning all the day. Whilst others are admiring their 
graces and extolling their performances, they are prostrate 
before God, lamenting the deadness and treachery of 
their hearts, and abashed and confounded upon account 
of the awful defects and the horrid pollutions which have 
degraded and defiled their services. 

But provided that they can secure a respectable repu- 
tation, and avoid the present inconveniences of vice, what 
care hypocrites and formalists about the adorning of the 
inner man; about purity, liveliness, and spirituality of 
heart? When did you ever hear them complaining of 
blindness of mind and insensibility of soul? When did 
you ever find them bewailing the dulness, coldness, and 
treachery of their spirits? mourning and deploring that 
iniquities prevail against them? and entreating God to 
cleanse them from secret faults, and to make them all holy 
and glorious within? 

If ever they are betrayed into open sin, it must be ob- 
served, that, 

2. The outward transgressions of believers are commit- 
ted ignorantly and voluntarily. 

We cannot deny that they sometimes offend ; for there 
is no man who liveth and sinneth not. 

But did you ever hear of a Christian laying plans of 
mischief? plotting evil upon his bed? travailing with de- 
ceit? and coolly and deliberately contriving by what means 
he might execute the base and malicious purposes which 
he had projected? 



147 

The works of the unregenerate are bad. Their worth- 
less deeds, however, are only an imperfect expression of 
the wickedness that is seated in their souls. However 
vile, revolting, and abominable their actions; if we could 
look within, we should find that their inward parts are 
unspeakably worse. Their lives are under some restraint; 
but their hearts are free from control; and pride, passion, 
profligacy, and impiety, rage and riot there with unbridled 
fury. Instead of being overtaken by iniquity, overcome 
by temptation, and surprised into sin; they follow after 
vice, meditate mischief, court temptation, and long for 
opportunities of gratifying the desires of the flesh and of 
the mind. For unless this is the case, why do they ab- 
sent themselves from the ordinances of religion, and hab- 
itually and studiously shun the means of spiritual improve- 
ment? associate with the worldly, the carnal, and ungod- 
ly, and linger with such eager delight on the verge of dis- 
sipation and debauchery? Unless they wish to catch the 
infection, why do they place themselves within the reach 
of contagion? And unless they love what is forbidden, 
and desire to be entangled in the snares of vice, why do 
they frequent the society of sinners, and hang so fondly 
about the unhallowed purlieus of profligacy and crime? 

But if a believer fall by his iniquity, it is in consequence 
of some sudden and unexpected assault. Vice attacks 
him by surprise, or assumes some fair and plausible ap- 
pearance ; and thus, when his vigilance is relaxed, and 
his suspicions lulled to rest, before he is aware of the di- 
rection in which he is hurried, he is made the victim of 
temptation and overpowered by sin. 

But by whatever means he is betrayed into evil, sin is 
the abominable thing that he hates; and he is no sooner 
made sensible of the wrong that he has done than he renoun- 
ces it, and repents and abhors himself in dust and ashes. 
The supreme object of his ambition being to walk so as to 
please God, his confession of sin is frank, open, and un- 
reserved. The acknowledgment of his transgressions 
gives him no uneasiness : but the presence and power of 
evil fill him with shame and self-abasement. Whenever 
therefore he discovers the obliquity into which he has 



148 

been seduced, he instantly lays his case before the Lord: 
crying, "Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done 
this evil in thy sight." God may forgive him: but he him- 
self is inexorable, and never can forget nor forgive his own 
baseness and vileness. 

But when did you ever find an irreligious man specify- 
ing his offences ? deploring his infirmities ; and in all the 
ingenuousness of contrition, and in all the bitterness of 
a broken heart, bewailing his guilt and un worthiness? 
You may perhaps hear him in general terms admitting 
that he is a sinner; that every man has his failing, and 
that he does not pretend to be better than his neighbours. 
But these vague and wholesale confessions, which impli- 
cate the whole human race, mean nothing ; and no more 
affect his heart nor penetrate his conscience, than if he 
were to declare that he is a man and not an angel, an in- 
habitant of earth and not an occupant of heaven. If you 
attempt to make him sensible of the guilt of any of his 
most plain and unquestionable violations of the Divine 
law : you may reason and remonstrate as you please ; he 
will stoutly and stiffly deny the charge ; or if denial be 
impossible, he will labour to palliate or justify his delin- 
quency, and dwell with glowing satisfaction and the most 
disgusting pride, upon the many excellencies of his heart 
and virtues of his life. 

Conduct such as this decides the character. By con- 
cealing her father's images, and defeating his attempts to 
recover them, Rachel showed her love of idolatry : while 
the Ephesians, by bringing forward their magical books, and 
cheerfully committing them to the flames, proved how 
completely they had renounced all regard for divination. 
And when we see the subterfuges and evasions of the 
worldly and self-righteous; when we see how pertina- 
ciously they stand upon their defence, and how uniform- 
ly they treat those as their enemies who have the courage 
and kindness to tell them the truth: can any thing fur- 
nish a more infallible and refreshing evidence of your be- 
ing possessed of another and a better spirit, than your 
ambition to give God the glory due unto his name, by 
freely and unreservedly proclaiming your own sinfulness 



149 

and depravity in breaking the requisitions of his righteous 
law, and withholding the love and the obedience which 
you owed him? 

3. The transgressions of believers are only occasional 
and temporary. 

Their constant employment is to do good. They ex- 
ercise themselves to have a good conscience in the sight 
of God and of man. And they habitually and assiduous- 
ly labour to fulfil the great and blessed object of their 
high and holy vocation. They do good unto all as they 
have opportunity ; hold forth the word of life; shine in 
the beauties of holiness, and abound in the fruits of right- 
eousness. The very apostle who makes such a humble 
and affecting confession of his being unable to do the 
things that he would, and made to do the things that he 
hated ; was one of the best and holiest of men that the 
earth ever carried, or that, ever entered the regions of glo- 
ry. He is the very man who declares that he served God 
with his spirit in the gospel of his Son; that when it 
pleased God to reveal his Son in him, that he might 
preach him among the Gentiles, immediately he conferred 
not with flesh and blood. He is the very man who de- 
clared that for him to live was Christ, and to die was 
gain ; who was in labours more abundant than his bre- 
thren ; and though, in his own esteem not worthy of the 
name, was in reality the very chief of the apostles. He is 
the man who, through life, counted every thing but loss 
for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ; and at the 
close of his long career, and in the full prospect of ap- 
pearing within a few hours before the God of knowledge 
and of holiness, could say, " I have fought a good fight, I 
have finished my course, I have kept the faith." 

And this is the study, and in a greater or less degree 
the attainment of every man who has been taught the 
truth as it is in Jesus. He lives not to himself, but to 
him who loved him, and gave himself for him. He has 
his heart in heaven and his conversation there. Who are 
the men who hold forth most steadily the word of life, 
and shine most brilliantly in the beauties of holiness? 
Who are foremost in every good work, and most active 
13* 



150 

and indefatigable in every humane and benevolent enter- 
prise? Who are the men who hallow our sabbaths, 
crowd our churches, educate our youth, and pour in the 
funds requisite to feed the institutions from which the 
various streams of piety and beneficence flow to purify and 
bless our polluted and wretched globe? Who are these, 
but the men who lament that they cannot do the things that 
they would, and complain that iniquities prevail against 
them? 

Their outward offences are slight, rare, and transient. 
They no sooner discover that they have fallen by their 
iniquity, than they instantly mourn over the evil that they 
have done, and in all the fervour of importunity, and in 
all the lowliness of humility, implore forgiveness from 
that God whom they have offended, and grace in all time 
to come to walk in his commandment. Can you assert 
that such men are the servants of sin? Can you say that 
cold is the natural temperature of summer, because in that 
season we have a few chilly blasts ? that light is not the 
usual effect of sunshine, because the day is sometimes 
darkened and deformed with clouds and storms? or can 
you affirm that holiness is not the believer's chosen, fa- 
vourite element, because he is sometimes inadvertently or 
unconsciously surprised into sin ? 

But look at the ranks of the unregenerate, the worldly, 
and the carnal: and what do you discover? Do you see 
men who are rivalling the faithful in their zeal? who are 
contending side by side against the apathy and insensi- 
bility of the ignorant and secure, and the general preva- 
lence of selfishness and sin? men who are labouring to 
extend the triumphs of virtue, and eclipse the followers 
of the Saviour in every branch of practical goodness? 
You will behold among them the covetous and the un- 
clean, drunkards and swearers, sabbath-breakers and men 
covered with every vice. You will find among tbem men 
who burlesque every thing that is sacred, and oppose eve- 
ry thing that is serious. But in vain will you search for 
one who loves God with his whole heart, who takes Christ 
for his pattern, and strives to walk in all the command- 
ments and ordinances of God, 



151 

4. They resist all sin, and shun every appeal ance of 
evil. 

Sin is contrary to the will of that God, whom the 
Christian cordially and supremely loves : it is inconsis- 
tent with the honour of that Saviour, to whom he owes 
his all, and prefers to his chief joy : and it is ruinous to that 
soul, which is formed for immortality, and which has an 
endless range of happiness or misery before it. How 
then can he love it? court it? obey it? How can he do 
this great wickedness, and sin against God? How can 
he do this abominable evil, dishonour his adored Redeem- 
er, and crucify him afresh? How can he, for the paltry 
and perishing pleasures of earth and of time, throw a 
blessed eternity away, and encounter all the indignation 
of an insulted and offended God? 

He is, therefore, perpetually on the watch to detect this 
accursed thing which his soul hates : and when he finds 
it out, his eye cannot pity it, neither can his heart spare 
it. He guards against temptation; strives against sin; 
and employs every rational measure to fortify his mind 
against the solicitations of sense and the arts of corrup- 
tion. For this purpose he meditates in the law of God: 
exercises himself to godliness; cultivates the life and 
power of piety ; courts the presence and influences of the 
Holy Ghost; lives in the Spirit, and walks in the Spirit. 
He attends on the ordinances of religion ; fulfils the out- 
ward calls of duty; and, in all that he does, labours to be 
spiritually-minded, to do it from the heart, and as unto 
the Lord. 

But is this the case with the unregenerate ? Do they 
avoid temptation? Do they resist sin? Do they guard 
against the encroachments of selfishness, indolence and 
carnality? eagerly avail themselves of the means of spirit- 
ual improvement, and vigorously endeavour to get into 
the heart and substance of piety, and to be continually 
engaged and occupied with the work of God? No; they 
hate every thing that is vital and spiritual in religion. If 
ever they attend upon its ordinances or engage in its ex- 
ercises, it is with formality and indifference. If they 
avoid flagrant and monstrous eruptions of vice, they will 



152 

at least indulge in less gross and disgusting acts of wick- 
edness. If they are not ringleaders in corrupting and 
debauching their brethren, they have the baseness to fol- 
low in the rear of the abandoned, and to imitate the ex- 
ample of the profane and profligate. If they will not run 
to the excess of riot, and work unrighteousness with greed- 
iness, they will at least cherish in their hearts the love of 
evil, and dwell with delight on what is forbidden. And 
can you say of such men as these, that they consent unto 
the law that it is good ? that they dread the appearance 
of evil? and delight in the will of God after the inward 
man? 

We have thus seen that religion produces a great and 
thorough change upon the heart and the life; that it does 
not in this world render the Christian perfect; but that 
amidst all his weaknesses and imperfections, he is essen- 
tially different from the irreligious and the carnal. 

Let none, therefore, who hate sin with a perfect hatred, 
and are longing for complete conformity to the will of 
God ; be discouraged, however far you may be from per- 
fection, and however much you may be ashamed and 
grieved for your own offences. We cannot expect com- 
plete freedom from sin, nor the full enjoyment of the 
image of God, till we reach that blessed world where we 
shall see him as he is, and where he is all in all. It is 
well that you know the value of his favour, and are long- 
ing for meetness for the inheritance of the saints in light. 
The ruin of men is, that they dislike the image of God : 
that madness and folly are in their hearts . that they are 
sold under sin, and led captives by their passions and 
vices. To resist evil, to mourn over besetting sins, to 
aim at perfect holiness, and perseveringly to pray to be 
sanctified wholly; are encouraging symptoms, and inspire 
the hope, that however far you may be from the posses- 
sion of the holiness that you covet, you are undvjr the ren- 
ovating influences of the Spirit of grace, and on the road 
to the enjoyment of holiness and God. If you were dead 
in trespasses and sins, these matters would give you no 
uneasiness whatever. The more ready you are to detect 
your own faults and imperfections, and the more rigid in 



153 

reprobating yourselves for your offences; it is the more 
favourable proof of a regenerated state. The quick- 
sighted discern motes in the sun-beam, when the blind 
cannot perceive the most lofty mountains : and " many 
a groan comes from the sick-bed, but none from the 
grave." 

But though it is no conclusive evidence that you are 
in a natural state, because you are prevented from doing 
the good that you love, and are harassed with the evil 
that you hate : let all guard against abusing this precious 
truth, by imagining that they may sin with impunity. 
Those who know least what believing is, may tell you that 
sin cannot hurt the believer. 

If there is no loss in the removal of the Divine favour, 
in the interruption of communion with God, and in the 
suspension of the joys of the Holy Ghost,* then sin cannot 
hurt the believer. If there is no harm in having your 
graces wasted, your mind filled with remorse, consterna- 
tion, and terror, your soul overrun with the most loath- 
some and ruinous corruptions, and your conscience ex- 
posed to the distractions and horrors of hell; then sin 
cannot hurt the believer. If there is no evil in vexing 
the hearts of the faithful and in opening the mouths of 
enemies to blaspheme ; in dishonouring the ever blessed 
God, in grieving the Spirit of grace, and tearing open the 
wounds of your bleeding and dying Redeemer; then sin 
cannot hurt the believer. If there is no injury in throw- 
ing away the joys of salvation, in piercing yourselves 
through with the most dreadful sorrows; in going all your 
days in the sadness of your spirits, and imbittering the pun- 
gency of your death-bed regrets; then sin cannot hurt the 
believer, and you may freely yield to its suggestions. 
But if you dread these things worse than chains and sla- 
very, than death and hell; O do not the abominable 
thing which Jehovah hates. Give no place unto Satan. 
Resist unto blood, striving against sin ; and rather die 
than wound your own peace, and crucify the Son of God 
afresh. 

You have need of constant watchfulness and the most 
unbending resolution. You are renewed only in part, 



154 

and sin is far from being entirely eradicated. It had ori- 
ginally hold of the heart: and whatever has first posses- 
sion of the soil, unless totally rooted out, is not easily 
kept under. Upon the least remission of the husband- 
man's care, it will throw up its shoots, and gradually 
overspread the ground. And if we are guilty of the 
slightest relaxation of our vigilance, sin will instantly ex- 
ert its energy, and strive to regain its lost dominion. It 
is wholly through the power of an opposite principle that 
it is subdued and displaced. This principle is renewing 
and sanctifying grace ; which is not at our command, but 
dispensed by the Holy Ghost, at any time, and in any mea- 
sure that he pleases. 

We cannot treasure it up, preserve, nor confine it. By 
our diligence to-day, we may provide for the demands of 
to-morrow. In the preceding seasons we may guard 
against the cold and storms of winter : and when a drought 
is foreseen or a famine apprehended, by timely supplies 
we may fearlessly encounter all their privations. But by 
what art can we treasure up the balmy influences of 
spring, or retain the light and heat of summer? And we 
too may fill the memory with the words of truth, and ex- 
ercise ourselves to habits of probity and piety. But by 
what means are we to command the operations of the 
eternal Spirit, or store up the vivifying and refreshing 
communications of his grace? His grace is a blessing 
for which we must have renewed recourse, according to 
our returning difficulties and exigencies. It is our daily 
bread, for which we must make daily application. The 
corn of human culture maybe preserved in magazines; 
but the manna, which came down from heaven, could 
not be hoarded up. It required to be gathered day by 
day. And if we remit our watchfulness, or restrain the 
exercise of humble, persevering, believing prayer; the 
Spirit, grieved and dishonoured, may withdraw his 
strengthening and purifying presence, and leave us to the 
melancholy and debasing power of the sin that most easi- 
ly besets us. 



CHAPTER IX. 
ON DISTRESS ARISING FROM DESERTION, 



" The Lord can clear the darkest skies, 
Can give us day for night; 
Make drops of sacred sorrow rise 
To rivers of delight." 



Of all the afflictions with which the soul can be visited, 
none is more painful and overwhelming than the loss of 
Divine consolation, and the hidings of the light of God's 
countenance. Life lies in his favour, and his loving-kind- 
ness is better than life. Blessed is the man whom he 
chooseth, and causeth to approach unto himself. It is his 
presence which irradiates heaven, and clothes all its hap- 
py fields with light and gladness; which invests the or- 
dinances of religion with life and sweetness: and gives 
dignity and elevation to the believer's mind, and serenity 
and delight to his heart. 

When this is imparted, the Christian can undertake 
any service, or endure any suffering for the sake of his 
Saviour and Lord. He can rejoice in tribulation, and 
glory in the cross . In the midst of the most severe and 
complicated trials, he possesses a peace which passeth all 
understanding, and a joy which is unspeakable and full 
of glory. But when the Divine presence is withheld or 
withdrawn, the ordinances lose their value; the soul is 
deprived of its liveliness and tranquillity; darkness and 
confusion take possession of the mind, and fill it with 
unutterable fear, despondence, and anguish. This has, 
accordingly, extorted from the saints the bitterest excla- 
mations of sorrow; and it wrung from the dying Redeem- 



156 

@t the most painful and affecting complaint that ever 
reached the ears of the Eternal. 

In contributing to the relief of those who are deprived 
of the sensible communication of the Divine favour, and 
subjected to the loss of that spiritual peace and con- 
solation which in their happier days they enjoyed, we shall 
consider, 

L The circumstances in which the believer suspects 
that God has forsaken him. 

II. The causes which occasion desertion, and, 

III. The comfort which the Gospel has provided for the 
deserted. 

I. The circumstances in which the believer suspects 
that God has forsaken him. 

This is the melancholy conclusion to which the belie- 
ver is often reduced, when he obtains no return to his 
prayers, when he derives no sensible advantage from the 
ordinances of religion, when he labours under languor 
and barrenness in duty, when he experiences no success 
in his benevolent services, and is subjected to multiplied 
and lengthened temporal trials. 

A Christian is often led to regard himself as in a state 
of desertion, 

1. When he receives no return to his prayers. 

Prayer is an interesting, invaluable privilege. What 
can be more delightful, honourable, and profitable, than 
free access into the presence of the King of kings, liberty 
to pour out our hearts fully before him, and permission to 
ask what we will? 

In scripture we have the most earnest exhortations to 
pray, and the most strong and encouraging promises of a 
gracious return to our supplications. Jehovah styles him- 
self the hearer of prayer, and assures us that all things 
whatsoever we shall ask in prayer believing, we shall re- 
ceive. And when the intimations of a kind acceptance 
of our requests are so numerous and positive; is it any 
wonder, when an answer is withheld to his petitions, that 
the Christian should fear that God has forsaken him; and 



157 

that, in anger at his offences, God has covered himself 
with a cloud, so that his prayers cannot pass through? 

The believer is led to apprehend that he is forsaken, 

2. When he derives no sensible advantage from the 
ordinances of religion. 

The ordinances are precious to the soul of the saint. 
There God has promised his presence, and there the 
Christian is frequently honoured to enjoy fellowship with 
the Father and the Son through the Holy Ghost, and to 
possess blissful anticipations of the delights and employ- 
ments of the world of glory. 

When in the ordinances God lifts up the light of his 
countenance, they are endowed with an indescribable life 
and sweetness. The Christian can then give unreserved 
utterance to all his wants in prayer, and lift up his soul 
with elevation and ecstacy in praise. The preaching of 
the word then drops as the rain, and distils as the dew. 
It comes to him as water to the thirsty, and floods to the 
dry ground. With what enlargement of heart does he 
then go to the holy table ! He then goes to the altar of 
God, to God his exceeding joy. There Jehovah makes 
all his goodness pass before him. There he makes him 
eat of his pleasant meat, and drink of his generous and 
refreshing wine. He brings him into his banqueting- 
house, and spreads over him the banner of love. As the 
heavenly-fed and soul-strengthened believer retires from 
the hallowed spot, he is made to exclaim, " It is good to 
be here ! This is none other but the house of God, and 
this is the gate of heaven!" 

But if God withhold or withdraw his presence, however 
fair and promising the ordinances may appear, all their 
majesty and beauty vanish, and all their life and efficacy 
are blasted. Over them all we may inscribe, Ichabod : 
for their glory is departed. They are then as wells with- 
out water, or dry bones to a hungry soul. Under them 
all the Christian makes no progress, acquires no strength, 
and enjoys no comfort. And whilst others are edified 
and comforted, but he himself continues languid and life- 
less; whilst the dew of Divine influence falls copiously 
on all around, but his own soul remains dry and withered • 
14 



158 

it is no matter of surprise that he should write bitter things 
against himself, and suspect that the Lord has forsaken 
him, and that his God has forgotten him. In such a pain- 
ful situation, it is sometimes almost impossible to avoid 
crying, " Lord, where are thy former loving-kindnesses? 
Where is thy zeal and thy strength, the sounding of thy 
bowels and of thy mercies towards me? Are they re- 
strained? How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord? for 
ever ? How long wilt thou hide thy face from me ? How 
long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my 
heart daily ? 

The believer sometimes considers himself as in a state 
of desertion, because, 

3. He labours under deadness and formality in duty. 

The law of the Lord is, Thou shalt love the Lord thy 
God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with 
all thy might. And the Christian never can be satisfied 
till he gives to God what is required. Every degree of 
liberty and enlargement in duty delights and transports 
him : but every thing bordering upon lukewarmness and 
insensibility fills him with alarm and distress. 

This, however, is frequently his painful experience. 
The sabbath comes: but he feels none of a sabbath's 
frame. The sanctuary unfolds its gates, and the sounds 
of the everlasting Gospel fall upon his ear : but none of 
its life and power enters his heart. His closet opens to 
receive him : but though time after time he falls on his 
knees, lamenting the dryness, languor, and formality of 
his spirit; he can wring no sigh of contrition from his 
heart; and is obliged to tear himself from the throne of 
grace, without enjoying any of that tenderness, warmth, 
and elevation of soul, which constitute the very life and 
substance of devotion. 

When, therefore, he knows that Christ has promised to 
baptize his people with the Holy Ghost, and that where 
the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty ; is it any cause 
of astonishment that, in these melancholy moments, the 
believer should draw the most dreadful conclusions res- 
pecting his own condition, and suspect that the Lord has 
cast him off, and will be favourable no more? 



159 

Some are led to adopt the same mournful apprehen- 
sion, 

4. From the want of success in their pious and benefi- 
cent undertakings. 

From the day that you were taught to love the Lord 
with your whole heart, you began to love your neighbour 
as yourselves. Assured that it is the consummation of 
human duty and happiness, to know, love, serve, and en- 
joy the Lord ; your great labour and study have been to 
bring all to the knowledge and enjoyment of God. This 
has been your object in your prayers, in your circulation 
of the Scriptures, in your contributions for the extension 
and establishment of the gospel, in your efforts for the 
instruction of the young, for the relief and comfort of 
the aged, and for the improvement and welfare of all man- 
kind. 

When, therefore, you have the command of God, en- 
joining you to do good unto all as you have opportunity; 
and his promises, holding forth the certainty that he will 
accept your services, and bless the work of your hands ; 
and yet find, that your most pure and benevolent exer- 
tions are reviled and resisted, and that just in proportion 
as you spend and are spent in labours of faith and of love, 
vice and profligacy abound; you begin to tremble lest 
the Lord will accept no offering at your hand ; and that, 
on account of your worldliness and worthlessness, he has 
rejected both your persons and your services. 

Others are led to draw a similar conclusion, 

5. From the long continuance of severe temporal trials. 
As long as your strength is equal to your day, and you 

are blessed with the Divine presence and support, no trou- 
ble nor affliction can move you. So far from being 
oppressed with your trials, you can not only possess 
your soul in patience, but even glory in tribulation. But 
when your sufferings are multiplied or prolonged, and the 
Comforter, who should relieve your souls, is far from you ; 
when you look for light, but behold darkness; for a time 
of health, but behold trouble ; when, instead of diminish- 
ing the burden, the Lord seems to increase the load; 
when, instead of easing your complaints and granting 



160 

you the desires of your hearts, he aggravates your cala- 
mities and answers you by terrible things in righteous- 
ness: this is discouraging and alarming indeed. This 
overwhelms you with fear, and induces you to apprehend 
that by your offences you have provoked his displeasure, 
and that he has let loose his hand against you, and is con- 
suming you with all his terrors. 

On these occasions your trouble may be often augment- 
ed by the foul and detestable suggestions of Satan. If 
the Lord be but slightly displeased, the enemy of all good- 
ness eagerly helps forward the affliction. If the Lord 
lay on you the rod of correction ; Satan will eagerly seize 
it, to convert it, if possible, into a rod of iron, with which 
he may crush you. If the Lord administer a salutary 
draught; Satan will labour to infuse poison into the cup, 
in order to destroy you. He will secretly assail you with 
such insinuations as these : " Can you be the objects of 
Divine love; and yet exposed to such lengthened and 
complicated sorrows? Can God retain any regard for 
your welfare, and yet leave you to struggle alone with 
your afflictions? Will a tender-hearted parent abandon 
his sick and languishing child? And if you retained any 
interest in the affections of the Most High, would he nei- 
ther remove nor mitigate your troubles ? Would he with- 
draw from you in the midst of your distress, and neither 
cheer you with the light of his countenance, nor support 
you with the communications of his grace ? This evil is of 
the Lord : what should you wait for the Lord any longer?" 

Such are the principal circumstances in which believ- 
ers are led to suspect that God has forsaken them. 

Let us now attend, 

II. To the causes of desertion. 

These, however numerous and various, may be divided 
into two great classes ; the appointment of God, and our 
own sinfulness. 

Desertion sometimes arises, 

1 . From the appointment of God. 

From the number and greatness of our sins; from the 



161 

inexhaustible provision made in the gospel for our perpet- 
ual happiness and comfort; and from the repeated pro- 
mises of peace and joy to them who love the Lord and are 
steadfast in his covenant ; many suppose that God never 
forsakes us, till we have criminally departed from him ; 
and that, if we would walk more closely with him, we 
should be strangers to every species of distress and sorrow, 
and be able at all times to abound in hope through the 
power of the Holy Ghost. They imagine that to affirm 
the contrary, would deprive us of all confidence in the 
word of God, relax the motives to activity and watchful- 
ness, and hold out as much encouragement to the sloth- 
ful and formal professor, as to the humble, self-denied, 
and devoted disciple. 

Since all have sinned and come short of the glory of 
God, and in every thing we offend ; there can be no doubt 
that every case of desertion originates directly or remote- 
ly in a sinful cause, and that God is perfectly just in the 
most painful dispensations of this nature with which any 
of his people are visited. 

But if, while we maintain that all have sinned, we also 
admit that there are very different degrees of guilt ; we 
shall find little difficulty in acknowledging that believers 
are sometimes forsaken in the infinite wisdom and good- 
ness of God, without any criminal cause on their part, 
but in order to try their faith, and improve and strengthen 
their graces. 

If desertion were always the effect of our own sinful- 
ness, it would uniformly be represented as our own work, 
as criminal, or at least as the punishment of a crime. And 
instead of any provision being made for the support and 
comfort of the deserted, they would be reproved and 
threatened, and ministers would be commissioned to har- 
row up their consciences with remonstrances against their 
past treachery and baseness, and denunciations of future 
judgments against their perverse and rebellious conduct. 

But instead of speaking of desertion as our own work, 

it is mentioned as the work of God. It is not designated 

by the names of backsliding, revolt, apostasy, or any other 

term which should induce us to conclude that it is always 

14* 



162 

the effect of our sin and folly. It is described by God's 
forsaking us, hiding his face from us, and casting off our 
soul.* Instead of ascribing their loss of comfort to their 
own carelessness and carnality, we find the saints in de- 
sertion frequently inquiring into the reasons why he with- 
holds his wonted loving-kindness. "Why hast thou for- 
gotten me ? Why go I mourning because of the oppression 
of the enemy? Why standest thou afar off, O God? why 
hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?" If desertion is 
invariably the fruit of our own transgressions ; instead of 
telling us in such a situation that we have a just cause of 
fear, instead of denouncing indignation and wrath against 
our sins ; why does he expostulate with his people upon 
the unreasonableness of their alarms, and address them 
in language such as this? — "Why sayest thou, O Ja- 
cob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the Lord, 
and my judgment is passed over from my God? Hast 
thou not known, hast thou not heard, that the everlasting 
God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, faint- 
eth not, neither is weary? He giveth power to the faint; 
and to them that have no might he increaseth strength." 
"Zion said, the Lord hath forsaken me, and my God hath 
forgotten me. Can a woman forget her sucking child, 
that she should not have compassion upon the son of her 
womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. 
I have graven thee on the palms of my hands; thy walls 
are continually before me." 

We frequently read of the sufferings, distresses, and tri- 
bulations of believers. But if it were unjust in God to 
forsake his saints except as a punishment for their sins ; it 
must be equally unjust to subject them to affliction, ex- 
cept when they have offended him by their transgressions. 
According to this idea, the greatest sufferers must be the 
greatest sinners, and Job must have been wicked beyond 
all the men of the east. But how is this to be reconciled 
with the declaration of our blessed Lord, "As many as I 
love, I rebuke and chasten?" 

* Psal. xxii. 1; xxx. 7; xxxviii. 21; xliv. 24; lxxvii. 7—9; 
ixxxviii. 14. Isa. iiv. 7, 8. 



163 

And if the people of God may thus be occasionally visit- 
ed with affliction, without having provoked the chastise- 
ment by their criminal conduct; there seems no reason 
that desertion must invariably be the result of their se- 
cret backslidings or of their open sins. 

Desertion is indeed painful, but it is peculiarly salutary 
and profitable. 

It enhances the value of the Divine presence and favour, 
and makes us cleave to God with more fixed and deter- 
mined resolution. The worth of our blessings is seldom 
fully known till they are lost, or endangered. Never was 
Elishaso sensible of the importance of Elijah's society, as 
when the latter was on the point of being taken from his 
head. And never is the value of the Divine favour so 
clearly seen and so highly prized, as when we are on the 
point of being deprived of it, or find that it is actually 
withdrawn. 

Desertion increases our watchfulness against tempta- 
tion and our activity and ardour in duty. We are never 
so solicitous to please an endeared friend, as when we 
suspect that we shall be obliged to forego his society, and 
be separated from him for years, or for life. And when 
does the Christian manifest the greatest tenderness of 
heart, the most ardent love of things heavenly and divine, 
and the most intense desire to know and do the will of 
God ? It is when mourning over his departed delights, 
and longing for the restoration of those spiritual consola 
tions, which had formerly constituted the joy and rejoic- 
ing of his heart. It is then that there is the greatest dil- 
igence to guard against all evil, the most fervent follow- 
ing after God, and the most elevated ideas of the value of 
the presence and grace of the eternal Spirit. 

Desertion tries and discovers our graces. It is easy to 
trust the Lord when every thing succeeds according to 
our wish, and nothing occurs to disturb our peace or 
alarm our fears. But to be able to wait upon God even 
in the way of his judgments; to be able to hope even 
against hope, and like Job to say, though he slay me yet 
will I trust in him : this shows a deep acquaintance with the 



164 

power and faithfulness of God, and a love which many wa- 
ters cannot quench nor the floods drown. Such is the spi- 
rit frequently brought into action in seasons of desertion. 
Like David, the believer exclaims, "O my God, my soul 
is cast down within me : therefore will I remember thee 
from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the 
hill of Mizar. Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of 
thy water-spouts : all thy waves and billows are gone over 
me. Yet the Lord will command his loving-kindness in 
the day-time, and in the night his song shall be with me, 
and my prayer unto the God of my life." 

Desertion prepares us for relishing more the return of 
consolation, and qualifies us for ministering to the com- 
fort of those who are in similar trouble. Those are best 
able to appreciate the worth of health, who have been sub- 
jected to the severest sickness. The best guides are 
those who have travelled the same roads. The most use- 
ful counsellors are those who have been involved in per- 
plexity like what we experience. And who can know so 
well the blessedness to be found in the light of the Di- 
vine countenance, as those who have longest walked 
in darkness? and who are so fit to sooth the sorrows 
and revive the hopes of those who are forsaken of the 
Lord, as those who have been cast out from his pre- 
sence and obliged for a time to go mourning without the 
sun? 

And if desertion is thus calculated to promote our spi- 
ritual improvement and future usefulness ; it is no more 
inconsistent with the wisdom and goodness of the Most 
High, than the temporary restraints imposed upon the pa- 
tient, are inconsistent with the skill and benevolence of 
the physician. Nor does it argue a breach of faithfulness, 
any more than an answer to our prayers, not in kind but 
in loving-kindness, or the early death of pious youths* 
imply a violation of his promises of a gracious return to 
our petitions, and a long life to obedient children. 

But though God in his wisdom sometimes forsakes his 
people, in order to try and exercise their graces; we may 
observe, that this is very seldom the case, and that de- 



165 

sertion commonly is the consequence of our own folly, 
perverseness, and sinfulness. 

He is the Father of mercies and the God of love. He 
does not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men. 
If ever he restrain the manifestations of his kindness, and 
lift the rod of correction, we may in general rest assured 
that there is both a cause for his displeasure, and some 
valuable purpose to be accomplished by the chastisements 
which he inflicts. 

Any sin may provoke him to withdraw the light of his 
countenance, and to involve us in spiritual darkness and 
distress. The most common causes however of desertion 
are apostasy of heart, remissness and formality in duty, 
and known and open sin . 

Desertion is frequently occasioned, 

1. By apostasy of heart. 

It is from this that all our crimes and sufferings pro- 
ceed. They begin in an evil heart of unbelief, that wick- 
edly departs from the living God. Till its influence, how- 
ever, appears by the neglect of some positive duty, or the 
commission of some open sin ; it cannot attract the notice 
of our fellow-creatures, and may even escape our own. 
But there is not a single temper, principle, nor disposition 
within us, that can elude the eyes of the Omniscient, or 
impose upon the knowledge of Him that made us. He 
most distinctly sees, and most thoroughly knows the first 
risings and movements of this accursed evil. 

If therefore, whilst our conduct continues decent 
and correct, we are beginning to backslide in heart; if 
whilst we retain our religious profession, and persevere in 
our attendance upon the ordinances and exercises of de- 
votion, we are beginning to lose the spirituality of our 
own minds, and to fall from our first love; if we are be- 
ginning to undervalue the Divine presence, and to indulge 
a trifling and worldly spirit; if we are satisfying ourselves 
with the shadow of piety, but careless of the life and pow- 
er of godliness; it is impossible to retain the light of his 
countenance and to exult in the joys of his salvation. 
Will he confer his favours on those by whom they are not 
prized? Will he diffuse the peace and the hope which 



166 

his Spirit inspires, in that heart which is treacherously de- 
parting from himself, and following after its idols? 

His dispensations towards us are generally regulated 
by our conduct towards him. Them that honour him he 
will honour; but they that despise him shall be lightly es- 
teemed. When we cleave to him with purpose of heart, 
walk with him by faith, and prefer him to our chief joy ; 
he feasts us with fat things, feeds up with hidden manna, 
and makes all his paths towards us tenderness and love. 
But if we become unsteadfast in his covenant, or walk 
contrary to him ; he also will walk contrary to us, and 
make us reap of the fruit of our ways, and fill us with 
our own devices. The backslider in heart shall be filled 
with his own ways. 

If this is our case, the Lord will remove from us the 
light of his countenance, and the consolations of his Spi- 
rit ; he will meet us with one distress and sorrow, with 
one calamity and suffering after another; till we are hum- 
bled for our offences, and led in earnest to seek his favour. 
"I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge 
their sin, and seek my face : in their affliction they will 
seek me early." Thus while the holy importunity of Ja- 
cob detained the angel of the covenant till the break of 
day, and the affectionate entreaties of the disciples con- 
strained the seemingly reluctant Saviour to abide with 
them; how severely did the spouse smart for indolently 
declining to give immediate admission to her kind and 
condescending Lord?* 

Whenever therefore, without being conscious of any 
open sin, you become sensible of a loss of religious peace 
and joy; you have reason to fear that some Achan has 
gotten into the camp; that some secret apostasy is begun; 
that there is an inward departure from the Lord. Your 
business is instantly to examine your hearts, to search 
whether or not any iniquity has gained an ascendency 
there. For though some imagine that all is safe as long 
as sin does not break out in the life, no delusion can be 
more false and ruinous. As every man thinketh in his 

* Song v. 6. 



167 

heart so is he. The life may be comparatively blameless, 
when the heart is in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond 
of iniquity. Spiritual wickednesses, from being the most 
secret and insidious, are by far the most dangerous and 
destructive. " Satan neither drinks, nor swears, nor com- 
mits sins of the flesh, and yet he is a devil." And you 
may be free from gross vice, and yet be dead in trespas- 
ses and sins. 

Desertion is sometimes produced, 

2. By remissness and formality in duty. 

The Lord Jehovah did not form us for a life of indo- 
lence and ease. He did not load us with the bounties of 
his providence, nor surround us with the riches of his 
grace, merely in order to multiply our temporal comforts, 
and enable us to spend our time in mean and ignoble in- 
dolence. He formed us for himself, that we might shew 
forth his praise. Whatever may be our talents or our sta- 
tion, he requires us to love him with our whole heart, and 
to serve him with all our strength and mind. He tells us 
that we are not our own. He enjoins us to glorify him in 
our body and spirit which are his ; and to be steadfast and 
immovable, always abounding in his work. 

Though we were to reserve every feeling and every af- 
fection for him; though we were to consecrate to him and 
to his cause every moment of our time, and every particle 
of our strength; we could not even then love him too 
strongly, nor serve him too actively and earnestly. Our 
obligations to him are innumerable and immense ; and all 
the energies of our nature, though exerted in his service 
throughout the whole range of an endless existence, never 
can requite the infinite debt of grateful affection that we 
owe him. 

If therefore, while we are thus bound to know nothing 
but him, and to spend and be spent for his sake; we be- 
come slothful and remiss in his service ; can we expect to 
enjoy the fruits of his love, or share in the peace and glad- 
ness of his obedient children? Can the trifler make the 
same progress with the ardent and indefatigable student? 
Can the wayward and turbulent son possess the same 
marks of his father's approbation, as his obedient and in- 



dustrious brother? And whilst we are indifferent about 
our spiritual mercies; whilst we neglect the duties which 
God exacts, or are cold, remiss, and formal, in those which 
we render ; what ground have we to expect that he will dig- 
nify us with the marks of his friendship, or enrich and bless 
us with the elevating and endearing communications of his 
grace? If we would wish to walk in the light of his coun- 
tenance,. and to be exalted in his righteousness, we must 
abide in his love, and set him continually before us : we 
must live under the powers of the world to come ; and for- 
getting the things that are behind, reach forth unto those 
that are before, and press on towards the mark for the 
prize of the high calling of God in Christ : we must com- 
ply with every intimation of his pleasure ; and whatever 
we do, do with our might, and heartily, and as unto the 
Lord, and not unto man. In heaven the saints never lan- 
guish in their love, nor wander from their duty; and their 
sun no more goes down, neither does their moon withdraw 
her shining. If we were more like them in our spirit and 
temper; if our hearts were more constantly filled with the 
love of God, and our hands occupied with his work ; our 
consolations and joys would have a brighter and closer re- 
semblance to theirs. We should seldom have cause to 
complain of doubts and of darkness. Our peace would 
be as a river, and our righteousness as the waves of the 
sea. 

But if the Divine presence be lost by secret apostasy, 
and by remissness and formality in duty, it must much 
more certainly be forfeited, 

3. By known and open sin. 

Sin is irreconcilably repugnant to the nature of God. 
It is the abominable thing which he hates. What friendly 
intercourse then can we maintain with those who commit 
it. What fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteous- 
ness? And what communion hath light with darkness? 
And what concord hath Christ with Belial ? Open sin is 
such a flagrant violation of his law ; it is so utterly inconsis- 
tent with the Christian character; it tends so much to em- 
bolden others in transgression, and to set his authority at 
defiance; that, so far from maintaining any kindly fellow- 



169 

ship with those who indulge it, he has threatened to punish 
it severely, and has actually inflicted the most awful judg- 
ments even on his own people, who have ventured on this 
vile and forbidden ground. And if ever we shall presume 
to offend him, we must lay our account with the most sig- 
nal chastisement. Fo this is a standing and immutable 
rule in his righteous administration, "If his children for- 
sake my law, and walk not in my judgments; if they 
break my statutes, and keep not my commandments ; then 
will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their ini- 
quity with stripes." 



15 



CHAPTER X. 
THE SAME SUBJECT CONTINUED. 



" Lord ! shine on this benighted heart, 
With beams of mercy shine ! 
And let thy healing voice impart 
A taste of joys divine." 



Let us now attend, 

III. To the provision which the Gospel contains for the 
support and encouragement of the deserted. 

Whether this heavy calamity arises from a sinful or a 
sinless cause; if you retain your love to God, and your 
attachment to the Saviour; if you are mourning his ab- 
sence, and humbled and ashamed for the evils which you 
have done ; if you are longing for the restoration of his 
favour, and seeking his face with your whole heart and 
soul; however much reason you may have to be cast 
down, you have no cause for despair. This distress for 
his absence and this restless impatience for his return, are 
a token for good; and a proof, that though he has with- 
drawn the light of his countenance, it is only for a time, 
and that he has not forsaken you for ever. 

If you have reason to fear that, by some secret sin, or 
open transgression, you have moved him to jealousy, and 
provoked him to hide his face from you; then let me ask, 
Are you bewailing your guilt and folly in all the pungen- 
cy of grief, and in all the bitterness of a broken heart? 
Does the remembrance of your ungrateful treachery and 
criminal baseness, lead you to weep in secret places, and 
abhor yourselves in dust and ashes? Are you daily spread- 



171 

ing your offences before the Lord; and endeavouring, by 
renewed application to the blood of sprinkling, to obtain 
the remission of your iniquity, and the recovery of his 
presence and love ? 

If this is your case, then be of good cheer. However 
painful and deplorable your condition may seem, all shall 
yet be well. Though your sinfulness may be great; yet 
if you again flee for refuge to lay hold on the hope set be- 
fore you, you shall in no wise be cast out. Though your 
guilt may be great, and its natural consequences most 
dreadful ; no offences are too foul, nor any case too des- 
perate for the Lord Jesus Christ. Are we not told that 
his blood cleanse th from all sin? and that he is able to 
save to the utmost them that come unto God by him? 
" Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord ; 
though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as 
snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as 
wool." Sinners, who never knew his grace, who never 
entertained any desire for his salvation, who have run to 
the excess of riot and covered themselves over with im- 
piety and crime; are invited, encouraged, commanded to 
come to him for life ; and are assured that, on their appli- 
cation, none of their trespasses shall be mentioned or 
brought into mind. 

If therefore you have fallen by your iniquity, return in- 
stantly to the Lord your God. Take with you words and 
turn to him. Go to the compassionate and adorable Re- 
deemer, as if you had never gone before. Your case can- 
not now be more dismal and desperate than it was, when 
Jesus first found you, lying in your blood, and cast out to 
the loathing of your soul. And did he bid you live when 
you were dead in trespasses and sins? And will he now 
refuse to revive, or maintain the work of his hands? Did 
he stop you in your rebellious and ruinous career, when 
you were sinning with a high hand, and revolting more 
and more? And will he reject your petition and your cry, 
when prostrate in submission at his feet, and lifting up 
the voice of penitence and prayer? If thy brother trespass 
against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a 
day turn to thee, saying, I repent ; thou shalt forgive him.'' 



172 

And whilst thus we are enjoined to exercise forgiveness 
to our offending brother, can we believe that similar com- 
passion shall not be found in the God of grace towards 
his repenting children? We have heard that the kings of 
Isreal are merciful kings. And we know that with the 
Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemp- 
tion. " I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself 
thus ; Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a 
bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I 
shall be turned,- for thou art the Lord my God. — Is 
Ephraim my dear son? is he a pleasant child? for since I 
spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still; 
therefore my bowels are troubled for him: I will surely 
have mercy upon him, saith the Lord.'" 

If you can discover no particular cause for your sorrow ; 
if your conscience bear you witness in the Holy Ghost 
that you have been endeavouring in faith and in earnest to 
walk with God in peace and equity; to allow no iniqui- 
ty to obtain dominion over you ; that you have preferred 
God to your chief joy ; that it has been your heart's desire 
and prayer to abide in his love, and to live under the pow- 
ers of the world to come ; then you have reason to con- 
clude that this painful dispensation is not the effect of 
Divine displeasure, but intended merely for the trial of your 
faith and patience. Your duty is to submit to it with 
calmness and resignation : and till God is pleased to re- 
store the light of his countenance and the joys of his sal- 
vation, for your encouragement and support, recall the 
former instances of his favour, and reflect on the immuta- 
bility of his love. 

If ever you have really tasted that he is gracious, you 
may safely rely on the permanence of the good work which 
he has begun. Apparent grace may be lost. From him 
that hath not, shall be taken away even that which he 
seemeth to have. But real religion is the gift of God, 
which he will not revoke ; and his own work, which he 
will never forsake. Blazing meteors may soon disappear; 
but the stars keep their stations, and the sun continues 
from age to age to shine in the greatness of his strength. 
Preparatory grace may give way. Every child does not 



173 

arrive at manhood ; and many of the fairest blossoms are 
blasted, and yield no fruit. And many professors who 
have run well for a season, and have had the most impos- 
ing religious appearance, have afterwards drawn back, 
and walked no more with Jesus. But genuine godliness 
is an enduring principle, which will never fail. The 
righteous holdeth on his way, and he that hath clean hands 
waxeth stronger and stronger. True grace may suffer a 
decline, and the Christian may be guilty of many a shame- 
ful and hurtful fall. In temptation he may be severely 
tried and sorely shaken: but though the heel may be 
bruised, the head is safe. The exercise of grace may be 
restrained, and its consolations for a time suspended: 
whilst the sacred principle itself retains its existence, 
and shall sooner or later recover all its former strength 
and beauty. Planted by the hand of the Almighty, and 
perpetually under his protection and care, it shall spring up 
in spite of all opposition, outbrave the fury of every storm, 
and flourish in undecaying verdure, when tempests shall 
cease to beat, and the very region in which they were en- 
gendered, and where they spent their violence, shall be 
known no more. The gifts and the callings of God are 
without repentance. He rests in his love: he hateth 
putting away: and whom he loves, he loves unto the end. 
Ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, 
since the day that God created man upon the earth ; and 
ask from the one side of heaven unto the other, if ever the 
righteous were forsaken, if ever a believer had cause to 
be ashamed of his hope, if ever the Lord abandoned his 
inheritance, or finally withdrew his love from a single soul 
whom he had drawn to himself, and led to fix his affec- 
tions on things unseen and eternal? Could you assem- 
ble the redeemed of the Lord into one, to the praise of 
the glory of his grace, they would unanimously declare 
that Jesus is faithful to his trust, that to his sheep he gives 
eternal life, and that they can never perish, neither can 
any pluck them out of his hand. He and they are one. 
Their interests are identified with his own; and because 
he lives they shall live also. "Who then shall separate 
you from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, 
15* 



174 

or persecution, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Nay, in 
all these things we are more than conquerors, through 
him that loved us." 

But perhaps you can derive no comfort from your past 
experience. You suspect that you never have been the 
subject of a gracious change. You fear that your for- 
mer religion has been a perfect delusion ; a shadow with- 
out a substance ; a form without the life and power of 
godlinoss. 

If this is the case then, you must look into the present 
state of your heart, and take an impartial and careful sur- 
vey of its desires and feelings. 

Whenever a final separation takes place betwixt God 
and a soul, it is mutual and complete. The Lord not 
only removes the light of his countenance, and the conso- 
lations of his Spirit, but likewise withdraws his secret and 
urgent applications to the sinner's heart and conscience. 
The man not only loses all his religious joy and comfort, 
but also renounces all concern for what is serious, and 
either sinks into a state of deep and impenetrable securi- 
ty, or else returns to a course of open impiety and profli- 
gacy. When love vanishes, it is seldom that it is suc- 
ceeded even by indifference : its place is generally occu- 
pied by dislike or enmity. And when the Spirit of the 
Lord retires from a soul, his place is immediately occu- 
pied by a spirit of a very different description. Hostility 
and discord ensued, whenever Abimelech and the men of 
Shechem lost their mutual regard. And no sooner had 
the Spirit of the Lord forsaken Saul, than an evil spirit 
troubled him. And whenever a soul is finally forsaken, 
as the departure always begins on the side of the creature, 
the breach is mutual. The man retains no love to religion, 
nor any longing after God. He not only loses his appa- 
rent comfort, but even the semblance of piety. In such 
an awful situation, the dreadful language which God em- 

})loys by his prophet, is uniformly realized: "My soul 
oathed them, and their soul also abhorred me." The 
apostate generally plunges into gross vice, and becomes a 
scoffer at vital godliness. But at all events he has no im- 
pressive nor abiding sense of his guilt and danger; he has 



175 

no hatred of sin; and little or no uneasiness respecting 
the issue of his course. He is twice dead : dead by na 
ture, and though for a season roused to some degree of 
seriousness, and apparently assuming the principles of 
spiritual life, the temporary agitation and alarm having 
once subsided, he sinks anew into that torpor from which 
nothing shall ever awake him. His conscience is seared 
as with a hot iron. As he did not like to retain God in 
his knowledge, God gives him over to blindness of mind 
and hardness of heart. Instead of being affected by his 
fearful condition, he becomes perfectly confident of his 
safety. Emancipated from, what he calls, the terrors of 
superstition, he lives in gaiety and pleasure, works un- 
righteousness with greediness, glories in his shame, and 
perversely asserts his innocence and safety, even when 
addicted to those practices against which God has most 
clearly denounced the most awful visitations of his wrath. 
Now is this your case ? Have you a secret aversion to 
every thing spiritual and sacred ? Have you an inward at- 
tachment to every thing foolish and trifling? Do you 
withdraw from the ordinances of religion; and neglect the 
exercises of devotion? Do you cast off the restraints of 
piety; and walk in the sight of your eyes and the ways of 
your own heart? Do you indulge in sensuality and sin; 
and retain no love nor longing after God and things di- 
vine? If this were your condition, you would have just 
cause to tremble for your dreadful state : for more sturdy 
evidence could not be given of a depraved heart and of a 
corrupt mind. 

But if conscious to yourselves that this is such a spirit 
as you dread and deprecate ; if instead of viewing salva- 
tion with indifference, you regard it as the one thing need- 
ful, and would cheerfully part with the wealth of ten 
thousand worlds to obtain clear satisfying proof of your 
own union to Christ and interest in his righteousness: 
that so far from living in any known sin, you shun all ap- 
pearance of evil, and are ashamed, heart-broken, and con- 
founded for the iniquities which you have already wrought ; 
that so far from shunning the duties and obligations which 
you owe to God, you delight in his law after the inner 



176 

man, and are labouring to glorify him in your body and 
spirit which are his; that so far from undervaluing the 
consolations of religion and the light of God's counte- 
nance, you prefer his favour to your chief joy, and count 
all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of 
Christ Jesus: all this is a token for good. It demon 
st rates that, though cast down, you are not destroyed; 
that though in darkness and distress, you are neither final- 
ly forsaken, nor forgotten. However feeble, the least 
sigh, or motion, is a sign of life : and however faint, and 
imperfect, every degree of compunction for sin, every as- 
piration after holiness, every longing after God, intimates 
that spiritual life, however feeble, is not totally extinct ; 
and that you still retain some good thing towards the 
Lord God of Israel. When Jonah cried, " I am cast out 
of thy sight, yet will I look again toward thy holy temple ;" 
when the spouse said, "I sleep, but my heart waketh; my 
Beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my 
bowels moved for him ;" this showed that however crim- 
inal and comfortless their state, they had not lost all spir- 
ituality of mind, nor were completely cast out from the 
Divine presence and favour. The root of the matter was 
still within them ; and though their wickedness for a sea- 
son corrected them, and their backslidings reproved them, 
their piety was revived and strengthened, and their conso- 
lations restored. And as long as you possess any sorrow 
for sin, and any earnest ardent longings after holiness and 
God; your case, though painful, is not desperate. The 
principle of grace is still alive ; and Jesus will not forsake 
the work of his hands. He, who has begun the good 
work, will complete it. A bruised reed will he not break, 
the smoking flax will he not quench, till he bring forth 
judgment unto victory. 

Your dejection and anguish for the loss of the Divine 
presence, and for the darkness of your understanding and 
the deadness of your heart; so far from arguing that your 
former religious joys were false and your experience de- 
lusive, prove that they were genuine and solid. You nev- 
er mourn the absence of those whose presence you never 
possessed ; nor regret the suspension of an intercourse 



177 

which never was begun. And what do all your distress 
and sorrow for the absence of your Saviour, and all your 
restless and importunate desires and prayers for his re- 
turn, intimate, but that you have really tasted of his love, 
and that you still delight in him as your portion and your 
all? Do the men of the world ever experience any such 
trouble and grief? Do they ever feel any regret for the 
absence of God ; or manifest any strong and intense de- 
sires for the possession of the light of his countenance and 
the joys of his salvation? Do you ever hear them com- 
plaining, Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God 
of Israel, the Saviour? Do you ever find them inquiring, 
Saw ye him whom our soul loveth? Do you ever see 
them sunk in sorrow, and bending beneath the burden of 
a broken heart, because they can do no more to his hon- 
our, acquire no more conformity to his image, nor enjoy 
more of his presence and love ? 

Give them wealth and honour, mirth and amusement; 
and what care they for Divine communications or spiritu- 
al enjoyments? They despise the ordinances of religion; 
profane the sabbaths of the Lord; turn their backs upon 
the sanctuary; and remain unaffected by all the melting 
wonders of redeeming mercy, and all the boundless dis- 
coveries of celestial glory. If ever they engage in the 
exercises of piety, they draw near to God with their mouth, 
and honour him with their lips, but their heart is far from 
him. To mourn an absent God, to bewail the loss of 
spiritual consolation and joy, to be humbled and ashamed 
on account of the coldness, stupidity, and insensibility of 
your souls ; are all proofs that you possess another and a 
better spirit than the men of the world, that you are born 
from above, and sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, 
which is the earnest of our inheritance, until the redemp- 
tion of the purchased possession. The presence of these 
affections, and your incessant and strong desires for the 
recovery of your former spirituality of mind, and the re- 
storation of your past felicity and joy; demonstrate that, 
though at present deprived of the light of God's counte- 
nance and the hopes of his salvation, he has called you 
out of darkness into light, and transferred your affections 



178 

from the things that are seen and temporal, to those that 
are unseen and eternal. For if you had been without 
God; like the careless and the carnal around you, you 
would have been living to yourselves, minding earthly 
things, and in one form or other, loving and serving the 
creature more than the Creator. 

How then came you to be exercised unto godliness? 
Why have you your conversation in heaven, and your fruit 
unto holiness ? Who has made you to cleave to God with 
full purpose of heart, and follow hard after him, even 
when he most completely hides his face? This is all the 
work of the blessed Spirit ; and without his sacred agency, 
you would have still been dead in trespasses and sins, and 
fulfilling the desires of the flesh and mind. 

A consciousness of remaining imperfection, and a pain- 
ful sense of indwelling-sin, so far from being indications 
of a reprobate mind, are the characteristics of a gracious 
state. Those who see may sometimes start at a shadow; 
but the blind will not shrink at the approach of a cannon- 
ball. The living may complain of a blow: but the dead 
cannot feel though crushed beneath the weight of a moun- 
tain. The Christian may tremble at the least frown which 
clouds the face of his heavenly Father, and cry out on the 
slightest motion of corruption : but the men of the world 
can sleep securely amidst the thunders of Sinai, and riot 
in unrighteousness, in defiance of the most tremendous 
denunciations of Almighty vengeance. If therefore you 
feel abhorrence of sin, love to God, zeal for his honour, 
and an earnest desire to be solaced and cheered with the 
light of his countenance, and the consolations of his Spi- 
rit; then your eternal all is safe. You are the objects of 
his affection, and the subjects of his grace. "For thus 
saith the Lord, Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my 
footstool : but to this man will I look, even to him that is 
poor, and of a contrite spirit, and that trembleth at my 
word." 

You may experience much to excite your alarm and try 
your faith. You may receive no return to your prayers : 
for Jesus himself complained, Why art thou so far from 
helping me, and from the words of my roaring? You 



179 

may derive no sensible advantage from the ordinances of 
religion: for many of his children, who have been the 
most diligent in attending upon every external institu- 
tion, have been compelled to cry, Oh that we knew where 
we might find him! You may languish under a sense of 
formality and deadness in duty: for this must have been 
the case with the Psalmist, when he was obliged to de- 
clare that his soul cleaved unto the dust, and entreated 
to be quickened according to God's word. You may dis- 
cover no success attending your pious and beneficent un- 
dertakings : for can you ever forget who lamented that 
he had laboured in vain, and had spent his strength for 
nought, and in vain ? You may be subjected to severe 
and long-continued trials; for what son is he whom his 
father chasteneth not? But while you continue to follow 
hard after God, to prefer his favour to your chief joy, and 
to count all but loss for his sake ; however dark and dis- 
tressing your frames may prove, your state is safe. These 
are not the feelings of nature. They are not the desires 
nor longings of the unrenewed mind. They are good 
gifts which come down from above. They descend from 
the Father of lights, and are the work of his blessed Spi- 
rit. And while they remain deeply seated in your heart, 
can you believe that God has finally forsaken you ? If a 
man go from home, but leave his family and furniture be- 
hind: what is our inference? That his absence is mere- 
ly temporary, and that he is determined to return. If he 
had renounced all interest in the place, and resolved to 
abandon it for ever, he would have carried all along with 
him, bag and baggage, and not have left a single article 
of his property upon the premises. And after God long 
laid siege to your heart, and by the mightiest operations 
of his marvellous love, succeeded in planting the graces 
of his Spirit in your souls : whilst these best and dearest 
pledges of his affection remain, can you persuade your- 
selves that he has renounced his conquest, and forsaken 
the work of his hands? If he had cast you off for ever, 
he would not only have extinguished your religious hope 
aqid joy, but also dismantled your soul of its graces and 
left it under the dreary and desolating power of vice and 



180 

depravity. He would not only have concealed from you 
the smiles of his face, but also have recalled his Holy Spi- 
rit. He would not only have stripped you of your com- 
forts, but also have withdrawn every trace of his sanctify- 
ing and purifying influence. If his departure had been 
final, every vestige of humility, contrition, and spirituali- 
ty, would have been effaced, and your souls abandoned to 
all that impenetrable and death-like apathy which mark 
a reprobate mind and hardened heart. As long therefore 
as you retain any love to his name, any delight in his ser- 
vice, and longing for the enjoyment of his love, as long 
as you vigilantly exclude Satan and his emissaries, and 
faithfully reserve the citadel of the heart for the King of 
heaven : all these facts are endearing and decisive proofs 
that you belong to the God of glory. They are pledges 
that, however distant he may now appear, he will speedi- 
ly return. "For a small moment have I forsaken thee ; 
but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little 
wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment ; but with 
everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the 
Lord thy Redeemer.'" 



CHAPTER XL 

ON DISTRESS ARISING FROM TEMPORAL 
AFFLICTION. 



' God's truth forever stands secure; 
He saves th' oppressed, he feeds the poor; 
He sends the lab'ring conscience peace, 
And grants the prisoner sweet release." 



Man is born to trouble : and by becoming Christians we 
are neither exempted from the ordinary calamities of life, 
nor rendered insensible to their number or severity. We 
are frequently subjected to sufferings and sorrows of our 
own, with which no stranger intermeddles : and though 
God sanctifies our trials, and gives us strength to bear 
them ; still in themselves they are as painful to us as to 
any of those who are around us. We feel as acutely, as 
the worldly and the worthless, poverty and reproach, sick- 
ness and anguish. We witness with no less emotion 
than they, the pale countenance, the emaciated frame, 
and the sinking eye of a dying friend or brother; and fol- 
low with a heart as heavy as theirs to the house of silence, 
and hear with as great a thrill of sadness as they, the clods 
of the valley rattling on the coffin, which contains the 
remains of what was lately so lovely and ever must be 
dear. 

As long, however, as your strength is equal to your 
day, and you are blessed with the Divine presence and 
support, none of these things can move you. Instead of 
yielding to despair, you can possess your souls in pa- 
tience. Amidst the wreck and ruin of your best and 
most valued earthly comforts, you can lift up your head 
16 



182 

sublime; take a calm and steady view of the darkest and 
most terrific of the scene, and glory in the deepest and 
direst tribulation. 

But when your distresses are multiplied or prolonged ; 
and that God who, with the light of his countenance and 
the consolations of his grace, used to cheer and strength- 
en your heart, is far from helping you and from the words 
of your roaring : this fills you with perplexity and des- 
pondence, and makes you suspect that by your coldness, 
unkindness, and sinfulness, you have grieved his Holy 
Spirit, and provoked him to become your adversary. 
Knowing that godliness has the promise of the life that 
now is, as well as of that which is to come, and that God 
has engaged to keep him in perfect peace whose mind is 
stayed on him; but finding that your own condition is de- 
solate and dreary, that one comfort after another is wrest- 
ed from your grasp, and that you are subjected to com- 
plicated and lengthened trials : you are ready to question 
the reality of your past religion, and to fear that you are 
still without God and without hope. 

My suffering friends, you would have great cause in- 
deed to adopt this melancholy conclusion, if you could 
show that affliction is always sent as a mark of the Di- 
vine displeasure, or reserved for the careless and the car- 
nal, or sent as a punishment upon the faithful, without 
being fitted or designed to produce any valuable or salu- 
tary effect. 

But is this any thing at all like the representation which 
the Bible gives us of its nature and design? 

Does the Bible, 

I. Represent affliction as the effect merely of the Divine 
displeasure ? 

Is this the inference that we are to draw from hearing 
the saints singing of judgment as well as of mercy? from 
the man being pronounced blessed whom the Lord correct- 
eth and teacheth out of his law? from the declaration of 
the Psalmist, that it was good for him that he had been 
afflicted? or from the assurance of our blessed Lord, As 
many as I love I rebuke and chasten? 



183 

Does the Bible, 

II. Represent affliction as reserved only for the careless 
and the carnal? 

It is certain that hereafter the wicked shall be punished 
with everlasting destruction from the presence of the 
Lord and the glory of his power ; and that in the mean- 
time many of their guilty pleasures are imbittered by re- 
morse and shame, and that multitudes of the transgressors 
themselves are like the troubled sea when it cannot rest. 

But the profane and carnal are not the only sufferers in 
this world of woe. It is only through much tribulation 
that any can enter into the kingdom. In the case of some 
of the dearest of the saints of God, afflictions have come 
so fast, and lasted so long, that they have had tears for 
their meat both in the night and day. Will you say that 
Job, David, Jeremiah, and the Apostles, were sinners 
above all the men of the ages in which they lived? Yet 
their trials were singularly numerous and severe : and in 
general none have received worse treatment than those of 
whom the world was most unworthy. 

The ungodly prosper in the world: they increase in 
riches: they become old and are great in power: they are 
not in trouble as other men, neither plagued as other men : 
for they have their portion in this life. But God has pro- 
vided some better thing for you. He has called you to 
an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not 
away, eternal in the heavens. And in bringing you to 
glory, one of the measures which he employs, with the most 
blessed effect, is affliction. 

Unless affliction is the lot of the children of God, why 
are they so frequently exhorted to cultivate patience and 
resignation? commended for their submission to the Di- 
vine will, and their fortitude under trouble ? Why are sup- 
port and consolation provided for them in seasons of suf- 
fering and sorrow ? and a rich and everlasting recompense 
promised to them who magnanimously endure their toils 
and trials? They who shall reign with Christ, are they 
who now suffer with him. And if you look into heaven, 
say, Who are these who are arrayed in white robes? and 
whence came they? These are they who come out of 



184 

great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made 
them white in the blood of the Lamb. 

So far is affliction from being reserved for the worldly 
and the worthless, that, on the contrary, it is one of the 
marks of adoption, and a large portion of it is expressly 
assigned to the faithful. "If ye endure chastening, God 
dealeth with you as with sons ; for what son is he whom 
the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastise- 
ment, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards and 
not sons." 

Does the Bible, 

III. Represent affliction merely as the punishment of 
sin, and as productive of no useful nor salutary effect? 

It is true indeed that there is no man that liveth and 
sinnethnot. In many things we all offend. The very 
best men on earth are imperfect ; and frequently charge- 
able with much that grieves the Spirit of grace, and pro- 
vokes the eyes of the Divine glory. And as God will not 
allow sin to pass with impunity in his dearest children, 
there can be no doubt that believers often smart severely 
for their trespasses. 

But whilst we distinctly admit that affliction is some- 
times sent as a chastisement for our iniquities, and that 
God is perfectly just in the heaviest trials that we endure; 
nothing can be farther from the truth than to affirm that 
affliction is intended solely as a punishment of our trans- 
gressions, and productive of no beneficial consequences. 
Few blessings are more important and inestimable, than 
the prevention and cure of sin, conformity to the image 
of Christ, a discovery of the meaning and excellence of 
the promises, a love and a relish for spiritual enjoyments, 
increasing fervour in prayer, liberal supplies of Divine 
strength and consolation, frequent visits of the Spirit of 
God, and a growing meetness for future glory. On ex- 
amination, however, you will find that these are some of 
the peaceable and precious fruits of righteousness that af- 
fliction yields. 

1. It contributes to prevent and cure our sins. 

The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately 



185 

wicked. But its baseness and treachery never appear in 
a form more humbling, lamentable and awful, than in 
seasons of ease and prosperity. Though perpetually 
prone to backslide, it is then especially that it betrays its 
criminal tendency to depart from the living God ; and that 
we are in greatest danger of overlooking the value of our 
spiritual treasures, and of taking up our rest and satisfac- 
tion in the empty and perishing trifles of earth and time. 
As long as his fortune lasted, the prodigal seems scarcely 
to have entertained a thought of his father : and if his 
wealth had increased or even continued, he never would 
have formed the resolution to return. But when his sub 
stance was spent; when the insidious attentions of his 
deceitful flatterers were withdrawn ; when famine began 
to prey upon the people; and he himself was compelled, 
amidst hunger and nakedness, to submit to the dis- 
grace and drudgery of feeding swine; he could no 
longer repel the recollection of the plenty that filled, 
and the peace and kindness that cheered his paternal hab- 
itation, nor resist the desire to arise, and go to his father. 
And when the world smiles on us, and we enjoy all the 
created comforts which we can wish ; we are lamentably 
ready to relax our religious activity and ardour, to forget 
our absolute unceasing dependence upon the ever-blessed 
and all-sufficient Creator, and the transcendent worth and 
endless duration of the blessings which he bestows. But 
affliction rouses us from our lethargy. The loss of the 
things that we love, and the various trials and disappoint- 
ments which we sustain, irresistibly convince us that this 
is not our rest, dissipate the airy and enchanting visions 
which health and prosperity had spread around us ; unfix 
the grasp which earth had taken of our affections ; lead us 
to set our hearts on the things that are above, and to seek 
our all from God. By the sadness of the countenance 
the heart is made better. By affliction iniquity is purged, 
and all the fruit is to take away our sin. 

When therefore affliction has such a direct and power 

ful tendency to counteract the encroachments of a selfish, 

worldly, and lukewarm spirit, and to rouse you to consid 

eration, watchfulness, and prayer; can you really be in 

16* 



186 

love with religion and prefer God to your chief joy, and 
yet regard adversity as an insupportable calamity, and de- 
precate it as an unmingled and incurable evil? Will you 
choose sin rather than affliction? the pleasures which per- 
ish with the using, rather than those pure, sublime, and 
boundless joys, which fill and feast the soul, and last for 
ever? 

2. Affliction affords us the privilege of becoming con- 
formed unto the image of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

He is the perfection of beauty and of excellence. He 
is higher than the highest : in all, and through all, and 
over all. He is the brightness of the Father's glory, and 
the express image of his person. 

Can any honour be higher? or any distinction more 
sublime, than to possess a resemblance to him who is so 
infinitely great, and so eternally blessed and glorious? 

Yet this resemblance may be in part acquired, and 
greatly promoted by the patient endurance of affliction. 
Jesus was despised and rejected fof men. His visage 
was marred more than any man, and his form more than 
the sons of men. Though he was a. son, yet he learned 
obedience by the things which he suffered. 

In this respect we are called to follow him. When 
opening the eyes of the blind; unstopping the ears of the 
deaf; when healing the sick with a word, raising the dead, 
and governing worlds, he did not stand still, and say, 
"Come and learn of me." It was when without a place 
where to lay his head; when subjected to obloquy and re- 
proach ; and enduring the contradiction of sinners against 
himself; that he said, Come and learn of me, for I am 
meek and lowly in heart. Hence, his apostle asks, 
"What glory is it, if, when ye be buffetted for your faults, 
ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and 
suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with 
God, for even hereunto were ye called; because Christ 
also suffered for us, leaving us an example that we should 
follow his steps : who did no sin, neither was guile found 
in his mouth ; who, when he was reviled, reviled not again ; 
when he suffered, he threatened not." 

Persecution for the sake of righteousness, the hatred 



187 

and hostility of the sons of Belial, distress and trouble in 
the cause of Christ and of a good conscience; are the 
badges of Divine nobility. These are the insignia of 
honour, with which Jesus in the meantime dignifies those 
on whose heads he shall hereafter place the crown of sal- 
vation. He himself was a man of sorrows. " And is 
the disciple above his master? or the servant above his 
lord? It is enough that the disciple be as his master, and 
the servant as his lord." And what honour on this side 
of heaven, or in heaven itself, can be more exalted or de- 
lightful than to be like the Son of God? 

The exercise of the active graces may be accompanied 
with a greater degree of present splendour, and may even 
prove more profitable to the world; but exercise of the 
passive graces is not less worthy of admiration, nor less 
beneficial to your own soul. Though God is at all times 
infinitely glorious and lovely, never did his goodness ap- 
pear in a more majestic and endearing form, than when 
the incarnate Saviour was seen bearing the contradiction 
of sinners against himself; led as a lamb to the slaughter, 
and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, not opening 
his mouth; healing the wound of the ruffian who was 
sent to apprehend him ; and in the agonies of death, re- 
commending his murderers to the mercy of his Father. 

And however criminal and ruinous to their authors; 
the scorn and derision, the malice and abuse of the world- 
ly and worthless, give us an opportunity, which we never 
otherwise could have enjoyed, of manifesting the heaven- 
ly origin and matchless superiority of our principles, 
They give us an opportunity of loving our enemies, of 
blessing them that curse us, of doing good to them that 
hate us, of praying for them that despitefully use and per- 
secute us ; and of demonstrating that the very worst that 
earth and hell can attempt, to subdue or suppress our re- 
ligious activity and ardour, only rivets us the more firmly 
to our duty, and gives tenfold strength to the bands of af- 
fection and zeal which bind our devoted hearts to the ser- 
vice of our Master. 

And the trials and afflictions of life, however painful 
and severe, afford us a similar opportunity of signalizing 



188 

the strength of our faith and the purity of our love. A 
hireling will fight for his pay, and a mercenary will abide 
in the work of his employer while it yields him greater 
gain than he could acquire by deserting it. But a friend 
or a son, will stand by a father or a benefactor, though at 
the peril of their own life ; and rather than abandon the 
venerated object of their affection in his distress, receive 
the mortal blow of the assassin in their own breast. And 
while religion is accompanied with temporal ease and 
honour, hypocrites and formalists will make a flaming pro- 
fession of piety, and outstrip many of the faithful them- 
selves in their forwardness and courage. But when diffi- 
culties beset them, when dangers threaten, and tribulation 
and persecution arise because of the word; by and by 
they are offended, draw back, and walk no more with Je- 
sus. But to cleave to him when the world frowns ; to 
adhere to him the more firmly as our trials abound; to be 
able to hope even against hope ; to wait on him even in 
the way of his judgments ; and say, Though he slay me 
yet will I trust in him: this proves a genuine acquaint- 
ance with the perfections of his nature, and the tender- 
ness of his heart : this bespeaks the faith of a Christian 
and the affection of a son ; and demonstrates that we are 
possessed of a love which many waters cannot quench, 
nor the floods drown. 

And if this is the high and invaluable end of your af- 
flictions; can you affirm, that, in the tribulations which 
have overtaken you, any strange thing has befallen you ? 
Is there any more perfect, lovely, and glorious than the 
Lord Jesus Christ? And since he was made perfect 
through suffering, will you dread or deprecate those trials 
which are sent in love, and designed to promote your con- 
formity to his image? Does a soldier consider it as a 
ground of rejoicing, that he is allowed to share in the dan- 
gers and privations of his general? And called unto the 
faith of the Gospel, and the hope of his eternal kingdom ; 
can your hearts desire a higher honour, or the God of 
grace confer a nobler distinction, than the immense, the 
invaluable privilege of a fellowship in the sufferings of 
him, who is King of kings and Lord of lords, and with 



180 

whom you shall reign in righteousness for ever and ever? 
Rather rejoice in the tribulations that ye endure? and 
glory in your affirmities. They are the gifts of God, and 
the marks of peculiar, signal favour. " Unto you it is 
given in behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but 
also to suffer for his sake." Such trials are " a manifest 
token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be 
counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also 
suffer.' ' 

Jesus could easily have bestowed on you the power of 
working miracles : and you no doubt would have been de- 
lighted with the gift. You would have rejoiced to have 
gone about, multiplying the supplies of the poor, healing 
the sick, and opening the eyes of the blind. But this fa- 
culty he has withheld, and reserved for you a prerogative 
less brilliant but more sublime : the privilege of resem- 
bling himself in calm, patient, cordial submission to af- 
fliction and distress. Improve your privilege. Take up 
your cross and follow him through all the difficult and rug- 
ged steps in which he may be pleased to lead you. 

3. Affliction unfolds the meaning, and displays the ex- 
cellence of the promises. 

If we were never sick, nor in want, we could have no 
idea of the value of medicine, nor of the importance of 
plenty. And though the Bible abounds with exceeding 
great and precious promises ; unless we were occasional- 
ly in the circumstances of distress and of trouble to which 
they are exactly adapted, the worth and efficacy of many 
of the best and richest in all the volume of inspiration 
would remain unknown. Till their provisions were near- 
ly spent, and a party of them had enjoyed a delicious re- 
past upon a dish of clams, an insignificant shell-fish, which 
lodges in the sand, and which in their more prosperous 
days they had despised; the first settlers in New-England 
never discovered the meaning of that promise, "They 
shall suck of the abundance of the seas, and of the treasures 
hid in the sand." And if we were never in sorrow, what 
conception could we form of the blessedness of them that 
mourn? If we were never tempted, what meaning could we 
attach to the language, " Blessed is the man that endureth 



190 

temptation.' 1 If we were never in want, how could we 
justly appreciate the animating assurance, " My God shall 
supply all your need, according to his riches in glory by 
Christ Jesus?" And if we were never called to pass 
through difficulties and dangers, how could we fully prize 
the gracious and astonishing declaration, " Fear not, for I 
am with thee: be not dismayed, for I am thy God?" 

Ease, health, and prosperity, have their attractions and 
their uses. But if we wish to live by faith, to be thorough- 
ly acquainted with the whole will of God, and know the 
import and the excellence of all his words of truth and 
kindness; we shall find that a season of distress and of 
trial is highly unspeakably advantageous. "As darkness 
shews us worlds of lights we never saw by day;" a beauty, 
a majesty, and glory burst from the pages of inspiration 
in the night of affliction and sorrow, which the sunshine 
of prosperity had concealed. 

4. Affliction enhances the value of our spiritual mer- 
cies, and makes us more sensible of the importance of an 
interest in the provisions of the everlasting covenant. 

The prosperity of fools destroys them; and many be- 
lievers have been deeply injured, in their spiritual health 
and growth, by a long continuance of worldly comforts. 
In these dangerous circumstances they are ready to forget 
their better and more enduring portion, and to lavish their 
affections on the empty and perishing trifles around them. 
But will you indulge in this criminal and ruinous state of 
mind in the dark day of adversity, or in the dreary night 
of death? In the light and heat of a summer's day, the 
child may carelessly rove from home, and entertain no 
wish to return. But let the rain descend, let the tempest 
blow, or an enemy present himself in his path : and in- 
stantly he will discover the perils of his ramblings, and 
long for the shelter of his father's house, and the kindness 
of his mother's arms. 

And though, in prosperity, the Christian may sink into 
carelessness and security, and take up his satisfaction in 
the things around him ; when health leaves him, friends for- 
sake him, Satan rages, and the world frowns ; when time re- 
cedes, and eternity with all its affecting realities rises on his 



191 

view; he then most forcibly feels that this is not his rest. 
He then finds that by remitting his vigilance, and wander- 
ing from his refuge, he has exposed himself to inexpressible 
hazard, and most deeply hurt the best interests of his soul. 
He then sees that there is but one thing needful; and that 
the wealth often thousand worlds is not, for one moment, 
to be compared with union to the Saviour, and an interest 
in the great salvation. From the vanities and follies of 
life, from the pleasures and trifles of sense, we then in- 
stinctively and eagerly turn to our nobler and better inher- 
itance ; and cling with ardent intense avidity to the high 
hopes and inexhaustible consolations of the everlasting 
gospel. We are then compelled in the sincerity of our 
souls to cry, " To whom can we go but to thee? Thou 
hast the words of eternal life. Whom have I in heaven 
but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire be- 
sides thee: my flesh and heart faileth, but God is the 
strength of my heart, and my portion forever." 

5. Affliction gives life and fervour to prayer. 

The child never cries more bitterly than when in dis- 
tress ; the prisoner never pleads more earnestly than when 
his life is in danger: and we are never more frequent, 
more humble, and importunate in our applications at the 
mercy-seat, than when assailed with trouble, and shaken 
with fear, stripped of our temporal enjoyments, and visited 
with severe and unexpected tribulation. Few saints ap- 
pear to have been oftener in trouble, or involved in deeper 
distress, than David and Jeremiah. But none seem to 
have been more familiar with the throne of grace, or more 
enlarged and ardent in their supplications there. 

In the time of health and prosperty our devotion often 
languishes. We are cold, short, and lifeless in our ad- 
dresses to our heavenly Father. But affliction rouses us 
from our lethargy. It drives us to our knees. It fills our 
souls with alarm, and our mouths with arguments. It 
compels us to plead in earnest, and to wrestle with God 
like men who know that their all is at stake, and that they 
must either succeed or perish. Even the wicked them- 
selves will visit God in trouble, and pour out a prayer 
when his chastening is upon them. How much more 



192 

must suffering bring you to the footstool of the Most 
High., and constrain you to pour out the fulness of your 
hearts before him? To whom can the sick and suffering 
child more naturally apply, than to his kind-hearted father? 
And, when you have tasted that the Lord is gracious ; to 
whom in all your griefs and fears, can you more reasona- 
bly, more hopefully repair, than to him who knows your 
frame, who is touched with the feeling of your infirmities, 
and who has said, "Call upon me in the day of trouble; I 
will deliver thee ?" " From the end of the earth will I 
cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed : lead me 
to the Rock that is higher than I." 

If, therefore, you know the worth of prayer, and value 
communion with the Father of your spirits and the God of 
love, fear not the approach of adversity. This will break 
up the dulness and sluggishness, the lukewarmness 
and formality which insensibly steal in upon your affec- 
tions. This will discover your weakness and wants, mul- 
tiply your errands to the seat of mercy, and give warmth, 
force and perseverance, to your intercessions. 

" Trials make the promise sweet, 
Trials give new life to prayer; 
Trials bring us to his feet, 
Lay us low, and keep us there." 

6. Affliction is the occasion of bringing down more 
plentiful supplies of spiritual strength and consolation. 

Among the many precious words which the Bible con- 
tains, few are more encouraging and refreshing than those 
promises in which God assures us; that as our days, so 
also shall our strength be, that his grace is sufficient for 
us, and his strength made perfect in our weakness. In 
consequence of these blessed declarations, we know that 
when we are weakest in ourselves, we are strongest in 
the Lord. The greater our helplessness, and the more 
numerous and distressing our trials, we require more of 
the Divine assistance and support. And since God has 
engaged to supply all our need, and to make his grace 
sufficient for us ; we may then rely on more rich and am- 
ple communications of strength and comfort. 



193 

And when you know that your life does not consist in 
temporal abundance, but in the presence and friendship 
of the Most High ; when you know that his favour is life, 
and his loving-kindness better than life, and that these are 
most amply afforded in seasons of suffering and sorrow ; 
will you shrink from the cross, which is loaded with these 
invaluable blessings? or tremble to place your feet in 
those waters of affliction, which are wafting to you your 
best and dearest treasures ? Cultivate another and a better 
spirit; and learn to say with the apostle, "Most gladly will 
I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ 
may rest upon me : therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, 
in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distres- 
ses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak then am I 
strong." 

7. Affliction procures us the most frequent and refresh- 
ing visits of the Spirit of God. 

A parent may love all his family, and treat the whole with 
tenderness : but if there is any who engrosses more of his 
attention, and receives more marked proofs of his care 
than another, it is the one who is most feeble, delicate, 
and sickly. And though the Lord Jesus Christ has 
charge of all his people, and loves the whole with the 
most lively affection; the visits of his grace, and the con- 
solations of his Spirit, are most plentifully imparted to 
those who are subjected to the most painful and lingering 
trial. He feeds his flock like a shepherd : he gathers the 
lambs with his arm, carries them in his bosom, and gently 
leads those that are with young. His own gracious de- 
claration is, " When thou passest through the waters, I 
will be with thee ; and through the rivers, they shall not 
overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou 
shalt not be burnt, neither shall the flames kindle upon 
thee." Accordingly, the valley of Achor has often pro- 
ved the door of hope. At evening time it has been light. 
His people have been not only patient, but joyful in tri- 
bulation. They have glorified him in the fires. They 
have found that when their outer man decayed, their in- 
ner man was renewed. When poor in this world's goods, 
they have had all, and abounded; and been able calm I v 
17 



194 

and confidently to say, "Although the fig-tree shall not 
blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of 
the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the 
flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no 
herd in the stalls : yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy 
in the God of my salvation." Sickness, suffering, and 
death itself surely may be cheerfully undergone, if, with 
the spouse, we can say, " His right hand is under my head, 
and his left hand doth embrace me." 

8. Affliction prepares us for greater measures of future 
glory. 

Though in heaven all are happy and glorious, they pos- 
sess very different degrees of honour and of joy. For 
one star differeth from another star in glory : and so also 
is the resurrection of the dead. The degrees of glory in 
general, are conferred according to the diligence and de- 
votedness displayed in the service of God. " They that 
be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, 
and they that turn many unto righteousness as the stars 
for ever and ever." But there are cases in which the re- 
wards of that better world, are proportioned to the sacrifices 
which have been made , and the faith and fortitude with 
which sufferings have been sustained for the Saviour's 
sake. " For our light affliction, which is but for a mo- 
ment, worketh for us a far more exceeding, even an eter- 
nal weight of glory." And shall the student patiently 
bear all the fatigues of literary toil, and the soldier all the 
privations and perils of the campaign, for a little fading 
worldly renown ? And shall you shrink from the pressure 
of those temporary and short-lived sufferings, when you 
have nothing less in view than the fulness of celestial fe- 
licity, and all the triumphs of eternal joy? 

Are these things so? Is it true that affliction is a pow- 
erful preservative from sin ; that it shuts the heart up to 
the faith, and preserves us from wandering from the God 
of love? that it unfolds the meaning, and displays the ex- 
cellence of the promises? that it enhances the value of 
our spiritual mercies, and makes us more sensible of the 
importance of an interest in the provisions of the ever- 
lasting covenant? that it gives life and fervour to prayer? 



195 

that it brings more plentiful supplies of spiritual strength 
and consolation? that it affords us the most frequent and 
refreshing visits of the Spirit of God? and works out for 
us a far more exceeding, even an eternal weight of glory ? 
Then under all your trials learn resignation to the ap- 
pointments of your heavenly Father. Be patient, stablish 
your hearts, for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. 
Inquire into the lessons of humility, self-denial, submis- 
sion to the Divine will, and diligence and zeal in duty, 
which your troubles are intended to enforce. Say unto 
God, " Do not condemn me ; shew me wherefore thou 
contendest with me." And until you discover the les- 
sons that they are intended to inculcate, in patience pos- 
sess your souls. Under the guidance and direction of 
the God of love, all things are working together for your 
good. Your severest trials are sent in mercy ; and will 
yield you the peaceable fruits of righteousness. What 
you know not now you shall know hereafter. In the 
meantime you know enough to convince you that they 
come from a friend, are the effects of his love, and intend- 
ed for your profit. Will the patient submit to the treat- 
ment which gives a temporary increase to his sufferings, 
when he knows that it will ultimately remove his com- 
plaint, and restore him to health and soundness? Will 
the mariner calmly endure the violence of a storm, when 
he knows that it is carrying him from a pursuing rancor- 
ous foe, and bringing him more speedily into a safe and 
friendly port? And yet will you tremble or despond un- 
der your trials, which are raising you above a world that 
would undo you, and fitting you more rapidly and fully 
for the purity and peace of heaven ? 

" Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery 
trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing 
happened unto you : but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are par- 
takers of Christ's sufferings ; that when his glory shall be 
revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy." 



CHAPTER XII. 



ON DISTRESS ARISING FROM THE FEAR OF 
DEATH. 



" Do flesh and nature dread to die? 
And timorous thoughts our minds enslave? 
Yet grace can raise our hopes on high, 
And quell the terrors of the grave!" 



On contemplating death and the glory beyond it, many 
Christians act a most unreasonable and inconsistent part, 
and do the grossest injustice to our Divine and adorable 
Redeemer. They feel that this world is not their rest. 
They are harassed with the trials and calamities of life 
They find that their sanctification is far from being com - 
plete, and their spiritual enjoyments pure and perfect. 
They profess to love the Lord Jesus Christ; to delight 
in his society ; to long for complete conformity to his 
image; to mourn his absence; and to be desirous to see 
him as he is, and to possess close and uninterrupted com- 
munion with him. 

But though death will put an end to all their sufferings 
and sorrows, place them in the immediate presence of 
their Lord, and the full enjoyment of his glory; they ea- 
gerly cling to life, and deprecate the thoughts of dying. 
They tremble at the approach of Christ, and dwell with 
reluctance and regret on the prospect of being presented 
before him. They are terrified lest the bustle and busi- 
ness of life should be interrupted by the signals of his 
descent, and they should be transported too speedily into 
his kingdom and joy. And when the summons of death 
is actually put into their hands, they instinctively recoil 



197 

from its sight, and pathetically exclaim, Spars us, O Lord, 
that we may recover strength, before we go hence, and 
be no more. 

But, my dear Christian friends, ought this to be th^ 
case? If you have laid up your treasure in heaven; if 
you have fixed your affections on the things that are above ; 
if you are living by faith on the Son of man; and making 
him all your salvation and all your desire ; what is there 
which ought to inspire a dread of dissolution, rivet your 
attachment to the things of earth and time, or excite 
alarm at the view of coming and appearing before your 
God? 

To a man of the world, who has lived without God, 
who has his portion here, whose affections grovel in the 
dust, whose soul is a stranger to the sublime delights and 
elevating employments of religion ; life must be possessed 
of inexpressible charms, and death of inconceivable over- 
whelming terror. He has no acquaintance with God, nor 
any inheritance in heaven. However gaily and merrily 
he may trip along this world's brief journey, he is hasten- 
ing to woe unutterable. He is running upou the thick 
bosses of the Almighty's buckler, and rushing to endless 
ruin. Careless and unconscious as he is of his situation, 
it is one of unmeasurable wretchedness. Of all the awful 
spectacles which we are called to witness, none is so ago- 
nizing and insupportable, as to stand by the death-bed of 
a fellow-immortal, who has frittered away the short, but 
invaluable day of his visitation. The ravages of earth- 
quakes, the devastations of volcanoes, and the flames of 
a burning universe, shrink into insignificance before the 
misery of the man, who dies after having passed his life in 
disregarding the precious entreaties of mercy, and resist- 
ing the renewing influences of the Holy Ghost. His 
breath departs: and in that moment the delusive vision of 
his bliss for ever vanishes. Confronted with that God 
whom he has forgotten, and that Judge whom he has des- 
pised, and insulted; he is banished from the presence of 
the Lord and the glory of his power, into the accumulated 
horrors of that eternity, for which he made no prepara- 
tion, and which by his carelessness and crimes he has 
17* 



198 

armed with wrath and filled with anguish. Who knows 
the power of the Almighty's anger? Who can conceive 
the dreadfulness of being turned into hell, and subjected 
to its never-ending weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of 
teeth? 

Men who are living without the power of godliness, 
have infinite cause to deprecate appearing before the Son 
of God, and to cling tenaciously to that world which con- 
tains their all. But if you are resting your hopes on the 
atonement, delighting in Jesus after the inward man ; if 
you are imploring conformity to his image, and longing 
for the full enjoyment of God : why should you desire to 
lengthen out the period of your exile and bondage? re- 
coil from the approach of death? or dread to enter the 
rest and joy of your Lord? Is there any thing repulsive 
in the person, or formidable in the presence of the Im- 
manuel? Is there any thing terrible or appalling in the 
passage from earth to heaven? Is there any thing fasci- 
nating in the world to excite your admiration, and rivet 
your affections? 

Since you cleave to life and recoil from the thoughts of 
dying, will you say that, 

I. There is any thing repulsive in the person, or for- 
midable in the presence of Him before whom death places 
you? 

Death introduces you into the presence of the Lord Je- 
sus Christ. And is he an enemy or a stranger? one who 
has treated you with haughtiness and severity ? grieved 
you by his coldness and unkindness ? or exhausted and 
oppressed you by his tasks and his rigour? 

He is the brightness of the Father's glory, and the ex- 
press image of his person: the Creator and preserver of 
all : of whom, and through whom, and to whom are all 
things. Who filled the earth with its riches, and gar- 
nished the heavens with their beauty? Who brought you 
into being? watched over your infant years? guided you 
in the intricate and dangerous paths of youth ? furnished 
your table? anointed your head with oil? made your cup 
to run over? and followed you with goodness and mercy 



199 

at 9 very step of your pilgrimage? To these, and a thou- 
sand similar questions, the same reply must be returned : 
It was the Lord. It was he who arrested you in the 
midst of your career of carelessness and carnality; dis- 
closed the plagues of your heart; stripped you of your re- 
fuges of lies; led you to the cross; proclaimed peace to 
your troubled mind, and gave you good hope through 
grace of salvation with eternal glory. When the world 
frowned on you; when friends forsook you; and the 
worthless cast out your name as evil; he was the friend 
who stuck closer than a brother, and amidst the most ter- 
rific threatenings with which you were assailed, cheered 
and encouraged you on by the kind assurance, Well done, 
good and faithful servant, be thou faithful unto the death, 
and I will give thee a crown of life. When languor and 
sickness prevailed ; when awe-struck relatives stood weep- 
ing around you ; when the physician shook his head, and 
silently withdrew ; when your heart fainted, and your flesh 
failed; it was he who stood by you, sustained your droop- 
ing spirits, raised you from the bed of distress and dan- 
ger, and sent you back to the duties and enjoyments of 
your calling. When bewildered with fears, and beset 
with difficulties and perils ; it was he who opened to you 
the Scriptures, led you to the throne of grace, filled your 
mouth with arguments, made you joyful in the house of 
prayer, conducted you to the communion table, and spread 
over you the banner of safety and of love. When deep 
was calling unto deep, when waves and billows were pass- 
ing over you; it was he who darted through the gloom, 
and in the soothing accents of love, saying, Be not afraid, 
it is I, stilled the tumult of your mind, and shed light like 
a sun through your soul. 

And has Jesus fed and upheld you through the whole 
of your pilgrimage? has he freely given you all the com- 
forts which you have tasted, and all the hopes which you 
entertain; has he loved you and given himself for you? 
Has he for you lighted up the splendours of heaven, and 
crowded it with all its sources of light and ecstacy ? And 
yet shall you be averse to meet him, and afraid to go to 
him? Does he who came to seek and to save that which 



200 

was lost ; he who became poor that ye through his poverty 
might be rich; he who poured out his soul unto death, 
that you might live an eternity in bliss : does he engage 
to come, and receive you to himself? And yet will you 
protest against his appearing, and entreat him to delay his 
promised descent? Do we delight in the society of an 
exalted friend and generous benefactor; rejoice to be re- 
cognised^as his associates, and honoured to wait on him, 
and receive his visits in return? And when the glory and 
the grace of the Lord Jesus, so infinitely surpass all earth- 
ly kindness and all created comprehension; will you shun 
his presence, and flee from his approach? Are you his 
disciples? are you living on him by faith; walking with 
God; preferring him to your chief joy; and in the ordi- 
nances of religion and exercises of devotion, seeking 
communion with him ; and crying, When shall we come 
and appear before him ? And yet will you dread his re- 
turn, who comes to finish your conflicts, admit you into 
his presence, and make you exceedingly and eternally 
glad in the light of his countenance and the joys of his 
salvation ? 

And if his presence is desirable and delightful, is there 
any thing, 

II. Terrible and appalling in the circumstances connect- 
ed with the passage from earth to heaven? 

To many this is the trying, discouraging circumstance. 
They would like to see Jesus as he is, and gladly come 
and appear before God : but they are afraid of what must 
accompany their departure from time into eternity. Ca- 
naan could be entered only by crossing the Jordan. 
Heaven cannot be reached but by the dark valley and 
shadow of death. And this possesses much to alarm and 
agitate. 

One is afraid to die on account of the consequences of 
death. 

"After death cometh the judgment, when each must 
give an account of himself unto God, and have his condi- 
tion decided for ever according to what he has done in the 
body. But how can I stand before the God of all the 



201 

eartnr Without holiness no man can see him. But 
alas! I am a sinful man. Iniquities prevail against me. 
I have not attained, neither am I already perfect. My 
heart, notwithstanding all its partiality and desire to jus- 
tify me, condemns me for many duties neglected, and 
many mercies abused. How much more must God con- 
demn me, who is greater than my heart, and knoweth all 
things? And if Jesus disown me, what must be my fate? 
To whom then can I flee for help, or where can I leave 
my glory? If heaven close its gates against me, endless 
misery must be my portion. And if the soul is lost, all 
is gone : for what shall it profit me to gain the whole 
world, and lose my own soul? or what can I give in ex- 
change for my soul? Who can dwell with devouring 
fire ? Who can lie down with everlasting burnings ?" 

Another is afraid to enter the dark valley and shadow 
of death, on account of the painful and affecting circum- 
stances with which dissolution is attended. 

" My spirits fail, and my heart sinks, when I reflect on 
the groans and agonies of dying; the wasting sickness, 
the burning fever, the racking pain, the exhausting lan- 
guor, restlessness and fainting, that beset the avenues of 
death; and all the humbling and revolting consequences 
that follow dissolution ; the coffin and t the shroud, the 
damp grave and the nauseous worm, the decay and cor ■ 
ruption which shall devour this flesh, and render it a 
mass of putrefaction and loathsomeness." 

Another is reluctant to die because of the long and me- 
lancholy separation which it will create betwixt him and 
his family and friends. 

" The faith and affection of the people of God have 
raised them in my esteem, and endeared them to my heart. 
My own family are never absent from my thoughts; and, 
by a thousand tender, though nameless ties, are firmly 
bound to my soul. But from them all death removes me, 
and renders me as ignorant of their condition, and as in- 
capable, as the stones of the field, of ministering either to 
their comfort or improvement. And after all the happi- 
ness that I have experienced in their society, how can I 
endure to break up so many sacred and strong attach- 



202 

ments? bear to see the companion of my joys and sor- 
row ; and the little objects of my love, weeping around 
me? support the agony of their parting embrace? or sus- 
tain the burst of sorrow that will follow my last farewell? 

" Ever since I knew the grace of God, my fervent de- 
sire and ceaseless endeavour have been that they might 
be saved. But after all my labours and prayers, there 
are some whose condition is worse than doubtful; but 
without evidence that they are brought under the power 
of godliness, how can I leave them in this wicked and 
ensnaring world, where I myself have suffered so severe- 
ly ; and where, if I had not been upheld by the mighty 
power of God, I must have made shipwreck of the faith, 
and have sunk into everlasting perdition? If even under 
my own eye, they have repeatedly wandered from the 
way of life ; what shall become of their souls, when I am 
gone, and can watch over, and admonish, them no more?" 

Another is pained at the thoughts of dying from an ap- 
prehension of the loss which his death will occasion to 
the interests of religion and of righteousness. 

" I have long been embarked in a pious and beneficent 
enterprise. After years of toil and anxiety have been 
spent upon the undertaking, much is still wanting to bring 
it to a close. When my breath departs, my purposes will 
be broken off, and all my efforts will be blasted. The 
enemies of light will rejoice in my decease, and speedily 
overspread the land around with vice and darkness. For 
I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves 
enter in, not sparing the flock." 

It cannot be denied that there is much in death to 
alarm and agitate the mind. Bat if you are really relying 
on Christ alone for salvation, if you are preferring him to 
your chief joy, ashamed and humbled because you love 
him no more ardently, and resemble him no more closely; 
whatever may be the ground of your trepidation or terror, 
look to him, and there you will find enough to meet and 
remove it all. 

Does a sense of guilt and imperfection deter you? 

Guilt is fearful and tremendous indeed. All unright- 
eousness is sin : and the wages of sin is death. To ven- 



203 

ture into eternity with unpardoned guilt, is as much as 
your soul is worth. This is to throw yourselves upon 
certain destruction. The foundation on which we may 
safely place our hopes of acceptance before a God glori- 
ous in holiness, and which is able to sustain the whole 
weight of our everlasting interests, requires nothing less 
than Almighty strength. 

Such a foundation, however, is to be obtained in the 
atonement of Immanuel : and if you will only have re- 
course to it and rest on it, you shall immediately secure 
safety and peace. Your guilt may be great and dreadful : 
but his blood cleanseth from all sin. Your persons may 
be vile and unworthy : but in him there is everlasting 
righteousness, and he can render you comely through his 
comeliness put upon you. You may be weak and help- 
less, and your interests may be of the most mighty and 
commanding importance : but his arm is omnipotent, and 
he is able to save to the uttermost. Though you were 
from this day down to the consummation of all things to 
keep toiling in the yoke of repentance and reformation, 
you never could have redemption but through his blood: 
and if you will go to him instantly, all its pardoning, 
sanctifying, and saving virtue, will from this moment be- 
come your own. It will this instant justify you freely, 
and sanctify you wholly. Our right to heaven and our 
meetness for its honour and enjoyments, depend neither 
upon the manner in which we are brought to him, nor the 
time spent in his service, but upon the reality of our faith 
in him, and the sincerity of the heart's submission to 
him. On one and the same day, the penitent thief heard 
of Jesus for the first time, believed on him, and accom- 
panied him to paradise. Believe on him, and you also 
shall be saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation. 

Are you afraid of the pain and agony of dying, and 
ready to recoil from the darkness, the dreariness, and rav- 
ages of the grave ? 

Jesus is the resurrection and the life. He that believeth 
on him shall never die, but have life everlasting. He who 
has guided and guarded you through the whole of your 
journey, will not cast you off when death and the grave 



204 

overtake you. In the dark, the fears of the infant are vis- 
ionary. In its mother's arms, it is then just as safe as in 
the light. And if you have fled to the Lord Jesus, and 
entrusted into his hands your souls and all their interests, 
you are just as safe in the darkest and deepest of the 
swellings of Jordan, as if placed within the gates of the 
celestial Zion, or seated on the throne of glory. If he be 
for you, who can be against you? The eternal God is 
your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. 
He himself declares, "Fear not, for I am with thee : be not 
dismayed, for I am thy God. When thou passest through 
the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers 
they shall not overflow thee. I will redeem thee from 
death, I will ransom thee from the power of the grave. 
O death, I will be thy plague : O grave, I will be thy de- 
struction." 

And why take you thought for the body ? What is 
sown in weakness, shall be raised in power; and, refined 
and purified by its long sleep in the dust of the earth, shall 
be raised in beauty and honour, and fashioned like unto 
the glorious body of your Lord. 

Are you afraid to leave your friends and families in 
this wicked and ensnaring world, where every step is be- 
set with danger, and where such multitudes involve them- 
selves in everlasting misery? 

Remember that that God, who is over all, is rich unto 
all. His promise is to you, and to your children. With- 
out his guidance and blessing, even with your presence 
and watchfulness, they would be eternally undone : and 
without your presence and counsels, with his guidance 
and blessing, they are safe. He who commands you to 
cast your burden on himself, encourages you to cast on 
him this care also. " Leave thy fatherless children, I 
will preserve them alive, and let thy widows trust in me." 
And can you desire a more powerful protector? a more 
skilful guide, or more generous benefactor? 

Are you embarked in a pious and benevolent enterprise, 
to complete which years will yet be requisite? 

It is your duty to plead and wrestle for the welfare and 
salvation of all, and to be continually engaged in works 



205 

of faith and labours of love. The success however of re- 
ligion does not depend upon your life nor your exertions, 
but upon the blessing of the Most High. Before you re- 
ceived your existence, he had a church and a people ; and 
ages after your bones are reduced to dust, his cause and 
interest shall remain unimpaired. He shall have a seed 
to serve him throughout all generations. His name shall 
endure forever. The whole earth shall see his salvation, 
and be filled with his glory. 

And since there is nothing repulsive in the person, nor 
formidable in the presence of the Lord Jesus; and since 
there is nothing appalling nor alarming in the passage 
from earth to heaven, will you maintain, 

III. That there is any thing fascinating in the world to 
excite your admiration and rivet your affections to the 
things of earth and time? 

The world is polluted by vice and darkened by suffer- 
ing and sorrow. The name of God is blasphemed, and 
his laws and authority violated and contemned. His grace 
and goodness are dispised and abused, and his spirit 
grieved and insulted. Satan walks at large, and goeth 
about incessantly, seeking whom he may devour. His 
servants have the ascendency : for the world lies in wick- 
edness. Wide is the gate and broad is the way that lead- 
eth to destruction, and many there be that go in there- 
at. 

War and discord harass the states and lay waste the na- 
tions. Weakness, inconsistency, and offences, break out 
in congregations, and perplex and agitate the churches. 
Disease and death enter our habitations, and create mel- 
ancholy havock in our families and the hallowed circle of 
our friends. The body is wasted with pining illness, and 
the mind is the frequent victim of remorse and fear, of 
alarm and terror. We cannot do the things that we 
would. We cannot tell how oft we transgress. We are 
perpetually dishonouring God by our waywardness and 
unworthiness, and afflicting our souls by our formality and 
coldness. 

And is this a world which should attract our admira 
18 



206 

tion and fascinate our hearts? Is it an object of desire 
to prolong our residence in a world that languisheth 
and mourneth, where the whole creation travaileth and 
groaneth in pain together? Would you like a little long- 
er to be plied by the temptations of Satan, and urged by 
the snares and allurements of sin? to hear the blessed 
name of God blasphemed, and see the spirit of all grace 
more contumeliously dishonored and more insultingly 
provoked? Would you like to have your souls a little 
longer vexed from day to day with the filthy conversation 
of the wicked, and witness more of their impious and 
daring outrages against the King of kings? Have you 
suffered so many things to no purpose, that you would 
like a little longer to have your bodies shaken with disease 
and racked with torturing pain? to have your eyes red- 
dened with tears, and your heart wrung with anguish for 
the sins that beset you, and the lusts that war against your 
soul? to dishonour your Saviour, and offend your God? 
to drink the cup of sorrow, and bathe in the waters of 
affliction? 

And if there is nothing either in the natural or moral 
world which should attract you to earth; will you say 
that your affections ought to be bound to life, in con- 
sequence of your religious privileges and spiritual enjoy- 
ments? 

It is true indeed that Jesus has done much for us on 
earth. Unable to restrain the exercise of his loving-kind- 
ness till we reach the heaven of heavens, and see him as 
he is; he commences just now the endless, endearing ca- 
reer of his generosity and grace. He showers down his 
goodness upon us in the house of our pilgrimage. He 
forgives us all our iniquities : he renews us in the spirit 
of our minds: introduces us into his family: dignifies us 
with the name, and blesses us with a place amongst his 
own sons and daughters. He sheds abroad his love in 
our hearts by the Holy Ghost, and admits us to fellowship 
with himself. He overrules every event for our advan- 
tage, and makes goodness and mercy follow us all the 
days of our lives. He blesses us with the first-fruits of 
the Spirit; and solaces us, in this land of distance and 



207 

darkness, with a specimen and earnest of our future felici- 
ty and everlasting glory. 

Loaded with his gifts and enriched with his munifi- 
cence, we are frequently compelled to stand still and ad- 
mire his liberality and love, and cry, What shall we render 
unto the Lord for all his benefits towards us? The Lord is 
the portion of our inheritance and of our cup. The lines 
have fallen to us in pleasant places ; yea, we have a good- 
ly heritage. 

But after all, we must remember that these privileges 
and enjoyments are neither the productions of the earth, 
nor the whole of our spiritual portion. 

They are not the productions of the earth. They are 
sent down from above. They come from the Father of 
lights and God of love. They are sent in mercy to ani- 
mate and strengthen us amidst the toils and perils of our 
warfare, by affording us a security and foretaste of the 
honour and joy awaiting us, when the labours and con- 
flicts of mortality are closed. We know what springs 
from earth. It is groaning under a curse. But while 
sterile in all that is spiritual and profitable, it is fertile in 
thorns and thistles, in all that can annoy and injure. 
Without the perpetual superintendence and care of the 
Most High, it would soon stifle and destroy all these plants 
of heavenly growth. In a soil and climate so ungenial and 
noxious, nothing less than Divine power can maintain the 
existence, and preserve the beauty and vigour of these 
sacred principles, which constitute the delight and joy of 
a renewed soul, and afford an earnest and representation 
of celestial bliss. 

And whilst the best and dearest of all our present pos- 
sessions come from above ; we must also remember that 
they are far inferior to our future and eternal inheritance, 
and furnish us with a faint and imperfect idea of the great 
things which God has prepared in a better world for them 
that love him. 

Vast and invaluable as the blessings are which we now 
enjoy, redemption is not confined to them. Can we be- 
lieve that the riches of saving mercy are exhausted in the 
religious privileges and spiritual delights which we expe 



208 

rience in the course of our threescore and ten? Was the 
mighty and liberal heart ot Immanuel set upon nothing 
nobler nor higher, than the partial knowledge, the defec 
tive holiness, and the limited happiness which in this life 
we are enabled to acquire? Was it merely for this that 
the councils of heaven were engaged from everlasting in 
deep and intense deliberation? that the patriarchal dis- 
pensation was planned, and the Mosaic economy intro- 
duced? s Was it for no more than this that every promise 
of revelation was charged with blessings, and the hopes 
and prayers of an expecting church were kept for ages 
rivetted on the mission of Messiah? Was it for no more 
than this that the stupendous machinery in providence 
and grace, since the day that the sun first set on a fallen 
world, has been maintained in constant vigorous operation ? 
and the Eternal Spirit, in all his sanctifying and renovating 
energy, has been hourly, perpetually at work in enlighten- 
ing and purifying the souls of those who are partakers of 
the great salvation? Was it for no more than this that 
the heavens at last gave way ; and the Son of God, in all 
the fulness of Divine beneficence and power, descended 
to the globe we dwell on ; and for thirty-three years, in 
all the depth of suffering and sorrow, traversed this world 
of crime and woe? watered the mountains with his tears? 
broke the silence of creation with his midnight cries? as- 
cended the cross, and poured out his soul in the midst of 
agony and blood ? 

The Lord is a God of knowledge. Throughout the 
whole range of his works and dispensations, consummate, 
absolute wisdom reigns? and in each he has an end in 
view, suited to the importance and magnitude of the in- 
struments which he uses. And are we to suppose that 
redemption, which in the majesty and grandeur of the 
means employed, so infinitely surpasses all the produc- 
tions of his power, is an exception to this general rule ? 
and that the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom dwells all the 
fulness of the Godhead bodily, in treading the winepress 
of almighty vengeance and in laying down his life, had 
not an object to gain, proportioned to the immense price 



200 

which he paid, and the mysterious and matchless measures 
which he adopted to secure it? 

He well knew the nature of the undertaking in which 
he was embarked. Before he entered on the ardent task, 
he had a joy set before him, for which he reckoned it well 
worth while to endure the cross : and he did not leave the 
scene of his toils and his anguish without the assurance 
that he should see the travail of his soul and be satisfied. 

A salvation, however, capable of rewarding the suffer- 
ings and death of the Son of God, is far too large for this 
contracted life and the little world we live in. The re- 
sources of a prince may be great : but a prison is utterly 
unfit for his residence, or the display of his majesty and 
munificence. The water of the ocean is immense: but 
it is only a little that a cistern can contain. And with 
the universe at his command, and all the resources of Om- 
nipotence at his disposal; yet, when he pours his bless- 
ings into our contracted souls, and conveys them through 
the medium of his word and ordinances, it is only a small 
portion of his generosity which the Lord Jesus can unfold, 
and a mere specimen of his goodness and grace that we 
can enjoy. Though his power, at this moment, is as 
great as it shall be after the consummation of all things j 
still this world is too narrow, time is too short, and our 
capacities too limited and feeble, to allow us in the pre- 
sent state to receive the whole fruits of his purchase, to 
admit the unreserved communications of his liberality 
and love, and to be filled and feasted with all his fulness. 

In order, therefore, to complete our holiness and happi- 
ness, and do justice to the designs of his peerless be- 
nignity and mercy, it is necessary that a new system 
should succeed the present, and eternity close in upon 
the transactions of time. A new heaven and a new earth 
are prepared to supply the place of the old, where all our 
faculties and powers shall arrive at full maturity and vig 
our; and where the Saviour, who loved us, shall have am- 
ple room and leisure to perfect all his purposes of kind- 
ness and munificence, and raise us to the height of digni- 
ty, and put us in full possession of unbounded blessed- 
ness. Accordingly, while providing richly for our safety 
18* 



210 

and comfort in the place of our present abode, his own 
heart rested on the bliss and glory of heaven ; and thither 
he taught us to direct our own expectations and desires. 
"If any man serve me, let him follow me, and where I am 
there also shall my servant be. If any man serve me, him 
will my Father honour." And his last petition in his last 
prayer was, "Father, I will that they also whom thou hast 
given me, be with me where I am, that they may behold 
my glory:" 

If you reflect for a little on your state in heaven, in 
contrast with your condition here, you will soon discover 
the kindness and wisdom of your Redeemer in his dying 
request, and acquiesce with the apostle in his declaration, 
that "to depart, and be with Christ, is far better." 

Ever since you knew the grace of Christ in truth, your 
heart's desire and prayer have been to be near him, to see 
him as he is, and be like him. In searching the Scriptures, 
in attending on his ordinances, in pouring out your souls 
before him ; the leading, the supreme object of your am- 
bition, has been to see him more clearly, and enjoy him 
more fully. But are you able in this world to secure the 
objects on which your hearts are so immovably fixed, 
and which you so eagerly court? Do you see the Saviour 
whom you love? Are you like him whom you admire 
and adore ? Are you enriched with the treasures of his 
grace, and filled with all his fulness? 

There are days and weeks, when you cannot get near 
him, and know not where to find him. You go forward, 
but he is not there ; and backward, but you cannot per- 
ceive him : on the left hand, where he doth work, but you 
cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand 
that you cannot see him. You complain that you are 
cast out from his presence, and that he is a God that 
hideth himself. 

But in heaven you shall see him, and see him as he is. 
The psalmist exulted in the assurance that he should be- 
hold his face in righteousness, and be satisfied when he 
awoke with his likeness. "Blessed," said our Saviour, 
"are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." We are 
repeatedly informed that his servants shall see his face, 



211 

behold his glory, and walk with him in white. In his de- 
scription of the new Jerusalem, St. John tells us, that the 
city has no need of the sun, neither of the moon to shine 
in it; for the glory of God doth lighten it, and the Lamb 
is the light thereof. 

Into this glory believers are admitted the moment af- 
ter death. The Bible knows nothing at all of the cold 
and repulsive doctrine of the sleep of the soul, during the 
interval betwixt death and the resurrection of the dead. 
It represents the transition from earth to heaven as in- 
stantaneous: for it speaks of our presence with the Lord 
as the immediate consequence of our absence from the 
body. "We are confident, and willing rather to be ab- 
sent from the body and present with the Lord." "To- 
day," said our dying Redeemer to the penitent suffering 
beside him, "shalt thou be with me in paradise." And 
as, on quitting their clay tabernacles, believers go to him, 
there they remain till his return. "For if we believe that 
Jesus died, and rose again, even so them also who sleep 
in Jesus will God bring with him." ft There sleep is un- 
necessary and unknown. For they rest not day nor 
night in celebrating his praises. They sit with him upon 
his throne, and follow him whithersoever he goeth. 

From your immediate presence with Christ, and your 
unclouded view of his glory, there will result the most 
delightful enlargement of your intellectual faculties, and 
the noblest accessions to your knowledge. You are al- 
ready blessed with some degree of the knowledge of God. 
Truths of which you formerly were ignorant, and which 
still remain concealed from the wise and prudent, have 
been disclosed to your contemplation. The gross dark- 
ness is already past, and the true light now shineth. 

But after all, you see only through a glass darkly. The 
thick and massy substance of matter is interposed betwixt 
you and the subjects which you are most anxious to com- 
prehend. God is invisible. The celestial guards, by 
whom you are attended and protected, are beyond the 
reach of your observation. Many of the pages of inspi- 
ration are only partially understood. The universe is 
wide : but from the place of our present residence, it is 



212 

only a mere corner of the Divine dominions that we be- 
hold. Obscurity rests on many of the dispensations of 
Providence : and amidst the overpowering glories of the 
gospel, our minds are often lost before the splendour of 
those objects, by which the angels' eyes are dazzled. 

But when we are absent from the body and present 
with the Lord, every obstruction to our intellectual im- 
provement shall be removed. Every remain of ignorance, 
imperfection, and error shall vanish. All our doubts and 
difficulties shall be dissolved. The rays of Divine illu- 
mination, shall be poured upon the darkest and most per- 
plexing matters of present investigation; and our facul- 
ties, brought to full maturity and vigour, shall be fitted 
for mastering the most sublime and magnificent realities, 
and strengthened for the direct and immediate vision of 
God. 

And if in this world, where our faculties are so feeble, 
where we labour under so many disadvantages for spiritual 
improvement, we have in a few years reached our present 
attainments; in the*course of eternal ages, what a mental 
vigour shall we acquire, and what an amount of intelli- 
gence shall we gain, when we shall see him as he is, be- 
hold light in his light, and know even as we are known? 

This vision of his face will complete .your sanctifica- 
tion. 

Your obligations to his grace are already unspeakable. 
He has not only forgiven you your trespasses, but also 
subdued your iniquities. He has shed abroad his love in 
your hearts by the Holy Ghost. He has led you to seek 
the things which are above, to love him supremely, to de- 
light in his law after the inward man, and labour to per- 
fect holiness in his fear. He has renewed you in the spi- 
rit of your minds, and created you again unto good 
works. 

After all, however, your sanctification is far from being 
complete. You cannot give to God the glory due unto 
his name. You cannot love him as you would, nor serve 
him as you ought. You are still beset with sin, and bur- 
dened with a body of death. 

But the spirits of the just are made perfect. And when 



213 

we are present with the Lord, every weakness shall be re- 
paired, every want shall be supplied, all that is pure shall 
become perfect, and all that is spiritual and holy shall be 
rendered permanent. We shall not only love God with 
our whole heart, but also serve him with all our strength 
and mind, and be possessed alike of the will and the pow- 
er to fulfil his adorable pleasure. The moral disorders of 
our nature being eradicated, and all our principles and fa- 
culties improved and elevated, the whole energies of our 
minds shall be in entire and eternal subjection to the dic- 
tates of our enlightened understanding, and execute with 
alacrity and correctness all the injunctions of our renova- 
ted and perfected wills. We shall be alike incapable of 
wandering from our duty, and of languishing in our work. 
Our invigorated powers through an endless succession of 
ages shall continue on the full stretch : and so far from 
experiencing weariness or fatigue, shall gather fresh en- 
ergy and ardour from the exercise. We shall go from 
strength to strength, increase our joy in the Lord, and per- 
petually reflect more of the image of our Divine and ado- 
rable Redeemer. In consequence of the sight which 
Moses obtained of the glory of the Lord, his face shone, 
so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold 
it: and the communion which Stephen enjoyed with his 
Master, not only filled his soul with serenity and joy, but 
also beamed through his countenance, and forced itself 
upon the notice of his barbarous and relentless persecu- 
tors. But they had only a distant and transient view of 
God, a faint and indistinct representation of his excellen- 
cies. What then must be the effect, when we shall see 
him, not darkly and at a distance ; not with these dim or- 
gans of vision, but clearly, closely, fully, and with strong 
immortal eyes I As the sun no sooner ascends the hori- 
zon, than instantly the whole space lying beneath him is 
illuminated with his rays, and converted into a region of 
light; so the Sun of righteousness will no sooner rise in 
all his uncreated majesty upon the paradise of God, than 
instantly the whole will be lighted into splendour with his 
radiance-, and all its happy inhabitants made to shine with 
his lustre, and reflect the brightness of his effulgence. 



214 

"The sun shall be no more thy light by day, neither for 
brightness shall the moon give light unto thee : but the 
Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and, thy God 
thy glory* Beholding with open face his glory, we shall 
be changed into the same image, from glory to glory." 

From all this there will flow a joy and happiness incon- 
ceivable, boundless and inexhaustible. 

"Thou wilt shew me the path of life : in thy presence 
is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for 
evermore." Every grievance shall be redressed: every 
pain and sorrow shall flee away ; and every dignity and 
delight shall be conferred, which a God of love can be- 
stow, or our limited but enlarged capacities can receive. 
We shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of his 
house, and he will make us drink of the river of his plea- 
sure. We shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more ; 
neither shall the sun light on us, nor any heat : for the 
Lamb who is in the midst of the throne shall feed us, and 
lead us unto living fountains of waters: and God shall 
wipe away all tears from our eyes. We shall enter into 
the joy of our Lord, inherit all things, and be for ever 
filled with his fulness. 

Is this the end of your faith? Are these the blessed 
fruits of your religious labours and expectations? the 
glorious results of living by faith and dying in the Lord? 
Why then should you shrink from the approach of death, 
and eagerly and timidly cling to life ? The men of the 
world, who have lived to themselves, and by their careless- 
ness, and crimes, have treasured up for themselves wrath 
against the day of wrath ; may tenaciously cleave to that 
world which contains their little all, and deprecate the 
advance of the king of terrors, who comes to drag them 
to the bar of an offended God, and plunge them into the 
horrors of a ruined eternity. But, O why should you, 
who have fled for refuge to lay hold on the hope that is 
set before you; you, who have your treasure in heaven, 
and your conversation there ; why should you recoil from 
the appearance of death, and dread that hour which sets 
you free from all the sins and sufferings of mortality, and 
puts you in full possession of the love and salvation of the 



215 

Lord? Does the captive exile fear to be loosed, and re- 
stored to the bosom of his family, and the society of his 
friends? Does the bride deprecate the day of her espou- 
sals and of the gladness of her heart? Does the heir mourn 
because he has reached the time appointed of his father, 
for passing from under the restraints of tutors and govern- 
ors, and for taking the complete possession of his titles 
and estate? Does the son of a king, who has been long 
retained in the hands of his enemies, and doomed to bear 
their insult and scorn, their outrage and cruelty; regret 
the arrival of the day which is to release him from their 
galling insolence and tyranny, and send him back to the 
arms of his father, and the palace of his ancestors? 

And complaining that you are condemned to darkness 
and sorrow, to a state of restriction and bondage; will 
you mourn the dawn of that day, which shall throw down 
the walls of your prison, deliver you from the body of this 
death, and introduce you into the glorious liberty of the 
sons of God ? Is Jesus the beloved of your souls, all your 
salvation and all your desire ? And yet will you repine 
because the day of his marriage is come, when your union 
to him shall be complete, and your joy shall be full? Are 
you at present only in the infancy of your being, where 
all your powers are imperfect, and your comforts mixed 
with trouble and sorrow? And yet will you lament that 
you are to reach the stature of perfect men in Christ, and 
be put in complete possession of the purchased inheri- 
tance? Professing to be pilgrims and strangers upon 
earth; bewailing that you are obliged to dwell in Mesech 
and sojourn in the tents of Kedar; crying, O that we had 
the wings of a dove, then would we fly away and be at 
rest; will you grieve at the call which commands you to 
arise and depart, to return to the house of your Father, 
and become kings and priests unto God and the Lamb? 
Do you love communion with Jesus; delight in the know- 
ledge of his glory; long for conformity to his image, and 
the enjoyment of his presence and favour? And yet will 
you betray alarm at the prospect of the consummation 
and crown of dignity and bliss, in being placed in his 



21G 

immediate presence, and seated with him upon his 
throne ? 

You know well what a mighty loss our souls sustained 
by the fall of Adam. Would you like to have the effects 
of our apostasy repaired ? Would you rejoice to be res- 
tored to paradise? If its beauty and fertility were again 
to be made to spring up, and the cherubim of glory to be 
withdrawn from its gates ; would you gladly bend your 
steps to Eden, and eagerly enter its green and flowery ar- 
bours? Would you impatiently seek there a retreat from 
the stormy wind and tempest? from the blasphemies of 
the profane, and the filth and nauseousness of the impure? 
from the clamours of contention, the outrages of violence 
and oppression? from the languors of disease, and the ra- 
vages of death? Would you exult there to regain the 
image and favour of your Creator and Lord, and wait in 
patience till the God of love should call ycu up from its 
sacred joys and ennobling employments to the scenes and 
services of the world of glory ? 

With such a prospect before you, would you grudge 
no toil, and decline no danger to reach its pure and invi- 
ting shelter; but resolutely and perseveringly urge your 
unwearied way to its blissful abodes, though continents 
should stretch their breadth, mountains raise their awful 
forms, and oceans roll their raging billows between? 

And in the arms of Immanuel, in the bosom of your 
Saviour and your God; have you all this and more? 
Have you there a refuge from every storm, and a defence 
from every foe? Have you there exemption from every 
toil and trial, and deliverance from every grief and fear? 
Do the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary live 
in unbroken rest? Shall no lion be there, neither any ra- 
venous beast go up thereon? Shall it not once be found 
there? Shall the inhabitant never say, I am sick? Are 
the people all righteous? Shall your sun no £iore go 
down, nor your moon withdraw itself? Shall the Lord 
be your everlasting light, and the days of your mourning 
be ended? And while freed from every evil, shall you 
be invested with every blessing? Shall you see, and be 



217 

like your God ? and be feasted with the goodness of his 
house, and made exceeding glad in the light of his coun- 
tenance? 

Is all this, and more, awaiting you in the heaven of hea- 
vens ? And yet will you still desire to linger on in this world 
of tears and trials, and deprecate the thoughts of dying? 
O learn to cultivate the spirit of the children of Zion ; 
and when you hear Jesus saying, Surely I come quickly; 
instead of entreating a longer delay of his coming, invite 
his descent, welcome his advent, and demonstrate your 
joy at his approach, by cordially replying, " Amen, even 
so come Lord Jesus. The voice of my Beloved lo, he 
cometh, leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the 
hills. Now is come salvation, and the kingdom of our 
God, and the power of his Christ. Lo, this is our God; 
we have waited for him, and he will save us : this is the 
Lord ; we have waited for him : we will be glad, and re- 
joice in his salvation." 

" To Jesus, the crown of my hope, 
My soul is in haste to be gone; 
O bear me, ye cherubim, up, 
And waft me away to his throne." 



19 



CHAPTER XIII. 

ON THE EVIDENCES OF A STATE OF GRACE. 

" In prayer my soul drew near the Lord, 
And saw his glory shine; 
And when I read his holy word, 
I called each promise mine." 

We have now seen that to those who apply to Christ, no 
sin is too great to be forgiven ; that as long as any sorrow 
is felt for iniquity, and any desire entertained for recon- 
ciliation to God, no soul can be charged with having 
committed the sin against the Holy Ghost; but that the 
universal calls and free offers of the Gospel, are an am- 
ple warrant and security to every individual to come to 
Christ, and believe on him for his own salvation. We 
have seen that whilst the soul counts all things but loss 
for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ, it has no 
real cause of alarm on account of its want of humiliation 
and contrition for its past offences; that that faith is 
sound and saving, which, however weak, shuts the soul 
up to Christ, endears him to the heart, and leads us to 
yield ourselves to him entirely and rest on him alone for 
salvation ; that though there can be no faith without a 
persuasion of the truth of what we believe, many have an 
interest in Christ without enjoying the assurance of their 
own salvation ; that while remaining corruption is resisted 
and hated, and, in spite of all its efforts to rule, is pre- 
vented from reigning, the soul is safe, and not under the 
law but under grace. And we have also seen, that whilst 
the man follows hard after God, and longs for the enjoy- 
ment of the Divine favour, however dark and disconso- 



219 

late his condition, he has no cause to apprehend that God 
has forgotten him; that temporal affliction is a blessing, 
and instead of being a proof of his displeasure, is a mark 
of his love; and that death, instead of being a ground of 
fear, ought to be to a Christian an object of desire, and 
an occasion of rejoicing. 

Many other grounds of spiritual distress might be enu- 
merated: but without entering into any farther detail, 1 
shall close all that has been said by illustrating a general 
truth, which applies to every case of religious trouble that 
can occur: While you are possessed of real religion, 
while you are in a state of grace, whatever you may ex- 
perience to alarm and agitate you, you have no reason to 
despair. 

If you ask what real religion is, and by what means you 
may ascertain that you are in a state of grace ; I have no 
hesitation in replying that real religion may be most 
easily and decisively known, 

I. By the soul's resting for acceptance in the sight of 
God upon the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

This is the only foundation which the Bible recognises, 
and to which a Christian dare cling. 

Every man has some foundation of his own, to which 
he trusts for acceptance in the day of decision. Some 
rely on their moral duties, and others on their religious 
performances ; some on their good works, and others on 
their good intentions. The grounds of their confidence 
differ as widely as the education which they have re- 
ceived, the society which they frequent, and the habits 
which they have formed. But still, however shallow 
and deceitful, however rotten and ruinous, some ground 
of confidence they must have, otherwise they could 
not retain their peace of conscience, nor remain in 
what is commonly, though in their case falsely, called 
their right mind. A view of the magnitude of the hor- 
rors awaiting the unregenerate in the future world, is 
more than any soul could endure, and if they only saw 
the extent of their everlasting wretchedness, without dis- 
covering at the same time the means of escape which the 



220 

Gospel has provided for the perishing, the most stout- 
hearted and hardened in all the ranks of profligacy and 
impiety would be driven to distraction. 

But a real Christian goes beyond all these, and every 
other refuge of lies, and never stops till he reaches the 
foundation laid in Zion. This foundation is impregnable. 
The righteousness of Christ is possessed of infinite value ; 
and mare than this no soul can require for its acceptance 
before the Lord. It may be no easy matter to bring a be- 
liever to confide in it simply and unreservedly. Without 
a conviction of guilt and a discovery of the destruction 
which it entails, no man will betake himself to the hope set 
before him in the Gospel. For they that are whole need 
not a physician, but they that are sick. But awakening 
and conviction, alarm and terror, remorse and contrition, 
and all the solicitude and trepidation of the most deep 
and painful work of the law through which a soul ever 
passed, can neither recommend him to the Redeemer, 
nor contribute the smallest fraction to his justification. 
" Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every 
one that believeth. By the deeds of the law there shall 
no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the 
knowledge of sin. And if by grace, then is it no more 
of works ; otherwise grace is no more grace ; but if it be 
of works, then is it no more grace ; otherwise work is no 
more work." 

But whilst he wants no more than the righteousness 
of Immanuel, the believer finds that, infinite as it is, the 
w T hole is necessary. His guilt is so great, that nothing 
less than blood Divine can wash it out. His transgres- 
sions are so numerous and enormous, that nothing less 
than Almighty grace can forgive them. His unworthi- 
ness is so dreadful, and his heart so desperately wicked ; 
that with a Holy God above him, an infallible tribunal 
before him, the curse of a broken law pursuing him, and 
an awful eternity rapidly rushing on; this infinite right- 
eousness is no more than he requires. There is none of 
it that he can spare. His poor perishing soul needs it all ; 
and he would not for the wealth of ten thousand worlds, 
nor all the treasures of creation, enter the world of spirits, 



221 

and appear before a holy and heart-searching God, with 
less than a Divine and all-sufficient righteousness. He 
can cordially adopt the language of the Apostle, and say, 
" Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the 
excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord ; 
for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do 
count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be 
found in him, not having mine own righteousness which 
is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, 
the righteousness which is of God by faith. God forbid 
that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus 
Christ." 

This entire reliance of the heart, for acceptance in the 
sight of God, upon the righteousness of the Lord Jesus 
Christ, constitutes the turning point in religion. Com- 
pared with this, every thing shrinks into insignificance. 
The misery of men in time, and their ruin through eter- 
nity, arise from slight and superficial ideas of the sinful- 
ness of sin, and the matchless glorious excellencies of 
God, which render him incapable of tolerating vice, or 
conniving at iniquity. Hence, the apathy of the igno- 
rant and illiterate, the infatuated recklessness and utter 
impenetrability of the gay and frivolous, the shocking 
impiety and Heaven-daring outrages of the profane and 
hardened. Were they aware of the consequences of a 
graceless condition, all the powers of darkness could not 
impel them to another deed of ungodliness; and rather 
than abide a moment longer in such an inexpressibly pe- 
rilous situation, they would submit to be torn limb from 
limb, and undergo ten thousand violent and dreadful 
deaths. 

But they feel not their guilt: they entertain no appre- 
hension of their awful fate ; and therefore, in spite of all 
that the messengers of the Most High can urge, and'all 
that the plainest declarations of Scripture can denounce, 
they slumber on, and take their rest; till the brief day of 
their visitation closes, and in a moment that they think 
not of, the empty bubble of their visionary bliss gives 
way, and the tremendous realities of a ruined immortali- 
ty burst upon their distracted view. Could we look into 
19* 



222 

hell, summon the spirits in prison to pass in succession 
before us, and learn from each how he came into that 
place of woe; we should find that they all had been un- 
done through blindness of mind and hardness of heart, 
which led them to neglect the infinite and all-sufficient 
righteousness of the Redeemer. They would not believe 
they were so bad as the Bible represented them : but im- 
agined that, though in common with all mankind they 
had their faults, on the whole they were respectable char- 
acters, and possessed many valuable properties. " Oh 
that we had known that by nature we were the children 
of disobedience and wrath • that we were dead in tres- 
passes and sins ; that we were altogether as an unclean 
thing, and all our righteousnesses as filthy rags • that all 
unrighteousness is sin • that the wages of sin are death • 
that without shedding of blood there is no remission of 
sin; that there is salvation in no other than the Lord Je- 
sus Christ ! Had we understood these things in the land 
of the living, we should not have come to this place of tor- 
ment. But the knowledge of them came too late, and 
now repentance is for ever hidden from our eyes !" 

They are irrecoverably lost through their insensibility of 
soul, which led them to disregard the strongest assurances 
of Scripture, that other foundation can no man lay than 
that which is laid already, and that salvation is of grace 
through faith. And as many as are trusting for their ac- 
ceptance with God either in whole or in part to their own 
virtues and performances, are, unconsciously indeed, but 
rapidly following them to endless perdition. " Behold, 
all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about 
with sparks : walk in the light of your fire, and in the 
sparks that ye have kindled. This shall ye have of mine 
hand ; ye shall lie down in sorrow. Israel, which follow- 
ed* after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the 
law of righteousness. Wherefore! Because they sought 
it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. 
By the works of the law shall no flesh be justified." 

If moral duties and religious observances, if the tears of 
penitence and the sighs of contrition, if the reformations 
induced by reason, or the reparations extorted by the 



223 

terrors of approaching judgment, could wash out the 
stains of guilt, or open the gates of glory to a single 
soul, the sorrows and sufferings of the Son of God would 
have been spared. Calvary never would have been red- 
dened with his blood, nor the grave closed on the Prince 
of life. And since God has not spared his own Son, but 
delivered him up for us all, this is a demonstration to all 
that there is salvation in no other; and that, if we would 
wish to be partakers of the redemption that is in Christ, 
we must cleave to him simply, rest on him entirely, re- 
nounce every thing for his sake, and make him our all in 
all. 

If this is your case, I congratulate you upon your bless- 
ed, glorious condition. He that is mighty has done to 
you great things : and holy is his name. The natural en- 
mity of your mind to him is slain. Your pride, self-suf- 
ficiency, carnal ease, and sloth, have received their death 
blow. The controversy betwixt your soul and God is 
closed. The conflict for eternity is decided. Grace has 
won the day, and carried the citadel of your heart : and 
now little else is before you but an endless triumph. 
The Lord Jehovah is your strength and your song ; he al- 
so is become your salvation. Jesus has passed his word, 
Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. He 
that belie veth shall be saved. And by thus betaking 
yourselves to him alone for righteousness and strength, 
you have him for your righteousness and strength, and shall 
receive all the blessings which infinite merit can secure, 
and all the safety that the arm of Omnipotence can impart. 

But though the first and most decisive, faith in the 
righteousness of Christ is not the only test of a state of 
grace. We have not only a Saviour but also a Sanctifier. 
While by faith in the righteousness of the Redeemer we 
obtain a title to the kingdom of heaven, through the reno- 
vating influences of the Holy Spirit we are afore prepared 
unto glory, and made meet for the inheritance of the 
saints in light. Though therefore, the foundation of our 
claim to eternal life is the perfect and all-sufficient right- 
eousness of Immanuel, which is absolutely incapable of 



224 

any additional force or virtue ; yet since faith purifies the 
heart, works by love, and may be as simply and satisfac- 
torily discovered by its results, as the tree by its fruit ; 
our interest in the salvation of the gospel may be very 
easily ascertained by the effects which faith invariably 
produces. 

We must observe then that real religion may be known, 

II. By love to the Lord Jesus Christ. 

"Unto you who believe he is precious." Without love 
to him there can be no religion whatever. In redemp- 
tion he is all in all: and if any man love him not, he is 
an entire stranger to the gospel, and under the curse of 
the Most High.* 

They who know any thing of him at all, need no com- 
mandment to love him. He possesses so many attrac- 
tions, that their hearts cleave to him, and they cannot with- 
hold from him their fervent affection, and most devout 
and elevated admiration. 

In himself he is infinitely great, and eternally blessed 
and glorious. The universe is wide. A cannon-ball, 
discharged from the nearest fixed star, at the moment when 
God said, Let there be light, though flying with its usual 
velocity, would still require centuries to reach the earth. 
But supposing that every inch in that intervening space, 
that every inch from the centre of the eternal throne 
round to the farthest verge of immensity, were filled with 
seraphim and cherubim of the highest and noblest powers; 
there is worth and excellence in the Lord Jesus Christ 
to ravish and transport the whole. For he is altogether 
lovely, the perfection of beauty and of goodness, the 
brightness of the Father's glory and the express image of 
his person , creator and preserver of all : for of him, and 
through him, and to him, are all things: and vast and 
mighty as the works are which he has made, they afford 
only a mere specimen of his benevolence and power. In 
majesty and grandeur, in endearing and peerless loveli- 

* 1 Cor. xvi. 22. 



225 

ness and worth, he sits enthroned immeasurably, ineffably 
above the brightest and the loftiest of them all. 

But whilst in himself he is infinitely great, blessed, and 
glorious, our obligations to him are innumerable and im- 
mense ; inconceivably beyond what the language of mor 
tals can utter, or the gift of the whole creation can equal 
For he loved us, and gave himself for us. He died for 
our redemption, and rose again for our justification. He 
died to deliver us from hell, and raise us to heaven; to 
rescue us from wretchedness unknown and never-ending, 
and put us in possession of blessedness and honour, un- 
bounded and eternal. 

If, therefore, we feel affection, and manifest esteem for 
the friend who confers a small accession to our fortune, 
or shews us any tender or costly act of kindness j can we 
ever have a just sense of the value of the great salvation, 
without finding our hearts glowing with admiration, and 
our whole souls penetrated and filled with love and grati- 
tude to our Divine and adorable Redeemer, for blessings so 
multiplied and overwhelming? blessings which will convert 
eternity into one uninterrupted scene of joy and ecstacy ? 
blessings purchased with his own toil, and tears, and blood ? 

To submit to Christianity as a task and a burden, to 
endure it as a yoke and a bondage, betrays an absolute 
ignorance of its nature, and a total want of any interest in 
its elevating and bliss-inspiring spirit. This is to yield to 
it merely from necessity. This is to declare that in itself 
it is odious and detestable : but that, bad as it is, it is more 
tolerable than everlasting perdition. 

And are we at liberty to regard in this manner the un- 
speakable gift of God? Are we permitted thus to contem- 
plate the most matchless display of Divine benignity and 
mercy, which has spread such transport over creation, and 
which shall occupy with its praise the joyful lapse of end- 
less ages? Is this all the return that we owe the friend of 
sinners, the compassionate and generous Saviour of our 
lost souls, who by the sacrifice of himself has redeemed 
us from everlasting death, and called us into the hope of 
his never-ending glory ? 

Unless we prefer him to our chief joy, delight in him 



226 

after the inner-man, and count all things but loss for his 
sake; we are destitute of every particle of genuine reli- 
gion, and have neither part nor lot in its blessings. Real 
Christians love him in sincerity. Overpowered by the 
consideration of his unparalleled and astonishing conde- 
scension and grace, their habitual inquiry is, " What shall 
we render to the Lord for all his benefits? Bless the 
Lord, O our soul, and all that is within us, bless his holy 
name. Bless the Lord, O our soul, and forget not all his 
benefits. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive 
power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and hon- 
our, and glory, and blessing. Unto him that loved us, 
and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath 
made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to 
him be glory and dominion for ever and ever." 

Having the hope of soon seeing him as he is, and find- 
ing their everlasting all in his presence and favour, in the 
mean time tbey cleave to him with full purpose of heart. 
They love his society; delight in his service; and rejoice 
to spend and be spent for his sake. They can truly say, 
" Whom have we in heaven but thee ? and there is none 
upon earth that we desire besides thee." 

If this is the case with you, then all is well. If your 
soul is overcome with the glories of his person and the ex- 
ceeding riches of his grace ; if you are transported with 
the wonders of his compassion and generosity, and ar- 
dently devoted to his interest and honour; and if amidst 
all the attachment and gratitude that you feel, and all the 
zeal and energy that you display, you are astonished and 
humbled because your soul is not melted with still more 
intense affection, and elevated with still more sublime ad- 
miration for Him, whose marvellous loving-kindness, and 
whose matchless infinite excellencies are sufficient to 
charm the universe and employ their enraptured adora- 
tions for ever and ever : this is a proof that you have pas- 
sed from death unto life, that you are born from above, 
and made the heirs of his everlasting kingdom. To the 
unregenerate he is without form and comeliness. He has 
no beauty that they should desire him. To love him 
therefore, to delight in him, and to follow on to know 



227 

him, are the effects of a new nature. This love to his 
person, and this admiration of his character, prove that 
God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, 
hath shined in your hearts, to give the light of the knowl- 
edge of his glory in the face of Jesus Christ ; and that 
you shall partake of that grace, which is promised to all 
who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. 
Genuine religion appears, 

III. By obedience to the commandments of Christ. 

"In this the children of God are manifest, and the chil- 
dren of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is 
not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. Ye 
are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. He 
that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is 
that loveth me; and he that loveth me shall be loved of 
my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself 
to him." 

Knowing this, and being renewed in the spirit of their 
minds, the hearts of Christians are strongly and intensely 
set upon holiness. They are ashamed to grasp at pardon, 
and neglect purity ; to court the favour, and despise the 
image of God. Sin is the abominable thing which they 
hate. Its presence fills them with horror. Its commis- 
sion covers them with confusion, and overwhelms them 
with consternation and anguish. It bows them down to 
the dust, and renders them so ashamed and grieved that 
they are unable to lift up their heads. But they love the 
law of God. They delight in conformity to his will : they 
exercise themselves unto godliness : and labour to perfect 
holiness in his fear. In the retirement of secret devotion, 
they complain in the bitterness of vexation that iniqui- 
ties prevail against them, and that they cannot do the 
things that they would ; and implore God to cleanse them 
from secret faults, to keep them back from all presumptu- 
ous sin, and sanctify them wholly in soul, body, and spi- 
rit. In attending the ordinances of religion, and fre- 
quenting the society of the faithful, the grand object of 
their ambition is to obtain a closer resemblance to their 
adorable Redeemer, and a greater meetness for the inher- 



228 

itance of the saints in light. And if you come up to 
them when engaged in the duties of their calling; you 
will find that, by setting God before them, doing all in 
obedience to his will, and endeavouring to keep his love 
reigning in their hearts, they are striving that God in all 
things may be glorified through Jesus Christ. For the 
love of Christ constrains them to live not unto themselves, 
but unto him who died for them, and rose again. 

Others^ pick and choose amongst the precepts of the 
Most High, and attend only to the more easy, popular, 
and fashionable services which are required. But Chris- 
tians have no limitation nor reserve in their obedience. 
They receive, observe , and do all things whatsoever he 
has enjoined. Others confine their regards merely to the 
outside of religion, and perform only the visible and pub- 
lic duties which he has inculcated. But what believers 
covet above all things is holiness of heart. They indeed 
labour to be blameless and harmless, to hold forth the 
word of life, and abound in the fruits of righteousness. 
But still the great object of their ambition and pursuit is, 
to be all glorious within. However amiable and excel- 
lent their life may be, their heart is far better. Their life 
may have its imperfections and its faults : for they can- 
not do the things that they would. But if they could 
obtain their hearts' desire and prayer, they would never 
rest from their labours, nor leave any part of their work 
unfulfilled. They would comply with every intima- 
tion of the will of God, and most effectually promote his 
praise. They would never read, nor hear, nor pray, with- 
out throwing their whole soul into the employment, and 
entering into the very substance and essence of the exer- 
cise in which they were engaged. 

The law of God is exceeding broad. But it is no wid- 
er than they wish. His law is holy : but that is just the 
reason why they love it. It enjoins no duty but what 
they esteem, and delight to discharge. When they hear 
of the humility, the self-denial, the purity, the spirituality, 
the elevation of mind, the fervour of spirit, the benevo- 
lence to man, and the supreme devotedness to God which 
it enforces; the first desire that ascends from each of 



229 

their hearts to his throne is, "Oh that my ways were di- 
rected to keep thy statutes !" 

There is much holiness in heaven. The angels have 
kept their first estate, and the spirits of the just are made 
perfect. But is the temperature of heaven too high? Is 
its devotion too pure? Its fervour too intense? its activi- 
ty and ardour too strenuous, lofty, and unremitting? 
Would it gall them to be wholly engaged and engrossed 
with the interest and honour of God, and to have their 
time and strength unceasingly and vigorously consecrated 
to the advancement of his cause and kingdom? Would 
it grieve them to love him with all the warmth of an angel, 
and serve him with all the holiness and zeal of a seraph? 
The holiness of heaven is exactly what they covet. There 
the will of God is done constantly, cordially, completely, 
with the whole heart and soul. And nothing would trans- 
port them more, than to bring down to the globe which 
they traverse all the purity, spirituality, and energy, which 
reign in the realms of bliss ; and carry into every relation 
of life, and exhibit in every undertaking and employment, 
the spirit and temper of an inhabitant of the celestial Zi- 
on. "Thy will be done on earth, even as it is in heaven. 
Let the whole world be filled with thy glory.'" 

But though the law is exceeding broad, and there is 
much holiness in heaven; there is more in the heart of 
the Man Christ Jesus. He is the brightness of his Fath- 
er's glory, and the express image of his person. He is his 
Elect, in whom his soul delighteth. But is Jesus too ho- 
ly ? Is his nature too pure, or his character too perfect 
and excellent to be an object of the love and imitation of 
his disciples? It is just what they most profoundly ad- 
mire, and most eagerly long to resemble. Their cease- 
less study and earnest prayer are to have the same mind in 
them which was in him, and to be in the world even as he 
was in the world. Their desires never can be gratified, 
nor their happiness complete, till they acquire his image, 
and shine out in a better world in all its lovely and glo- 
rious lustre. "As for me I shall behold thy face in righte- 
ousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy like- 
20 



230 

ness. When he appears we shall be like him : for we shall 
see him as he is." 

If, therefore, amidst all your weaknesses and imper- 
fections you are conscious that this is the case; that you 
hate every appearance of evil; that you are striving 
against sin ; longing for deliverance from the body of 
death ; solicitous for grace to glorify God in your body 
and spirit which are his, and to be holy even as he is holy : 
this is a demonstration that you are born from above, and 
created in Christ Jesus unto good works. "If ye through 
the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. 
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the 
sons of God. Blessed are they who do hunger and thirst 
after righteousness: for they shall be filled." 

Genuine religion invariably appears, 

IV. By a relish for spiritual enjoyments. 

Jesus is rich in grace. He has much to bestow. He 
possesses unsearchable, inexpressible supplies of bliss t 
for he is heir of all things, and in him all fulness dwells. 
With the universe at his command, and all the resour 
ces of Deity at his disposal ; he also holds in his hands 
the whole plenitude of the everlasting covenant, and 
all the treasures of redeeming mercy. In number, va- 
riety, and grandeur, they are every way worthy of the 
power and munificence of God,- and calculated to raise 
the happy subjects who receive them to the height of dig- 
nity, and put them in possession of the most pure, perfect 
and enduring felicity. They require a whole Bible to re- 
veal them, a whole heaven to contain them, and a whole 
eternity to unfold them. The Scriptures now are occu- 
pied in displaying the riches of the glory of God's inher- 
itance in the saints. But after all, it doth not yet appear 
what we shall be. Eternity will be spent in accumulat- 
ing fresh honour and blessedness on the heads of the re- 
deemed : for they shall inherit all things, and be more and 
more assimilated in holiness and happiness to that Savi- 
our whom they love, adore, and enjoy. 

But infinitely great and ineffably glorious as Ihey are; 
within the whole range of the everlasting gospel, is there 



231 

a single blessing which a Christian can overlook, or un- 
dervalue? Js there a greater amount of light, love, and 
faithfulness in the Scriptures? are there more hopes, 
privileges, and consolations in the gospel? more vast and 
unbounded stores of delight and ecstacy in heaven? more 
beauty and brilliancy in the celestial crown? more stabil- 
ity and grandeur in the regions of unclouded light? great- 
er kindness in the heart, or more large, precious, and di- 
versified blessings in the hands of Immanuel, than a be- 
liever admires, and longs to possess? O give him his 
strongest and dearest desire, and he would instantly seize 
on the whole, and never rest till blessed with all spiritual 
blessings in heavenly places, in Christ, and filled with all 
the fulness of God. 

As the merchant never apprehends that his trade can 
become too good nor his gains too great; as the husband- 
man never fears that the seasons shall prove too favourable 
nor his fields too productive; the Christian never dreads 
that his soul can possess too much prosperity, nor be too 
amply replenished and enriched with the gifts and graces 
of the Holy Ghost. The more vast and invaluable sup- 
plies he receives from his blessed Lord, only lead him 
more to admire the sublime and indescribable delights 

o 

that are still behind, and incite him to press more ardent- 
ly after the unknown and yet uncommunicated fulness of 
Immanuel. 

Now is this the case with you ? Are you thirsting for 
God, the living God? Are you crying, When shall we 
come and appear before God ? Do the benefits purchased 
by the blood of the adored Redeemer possess such a sa- 
credness and value, that they stand too high in your es- 
teem,, and are far too dear to your heart, ever to be forgot- 
ten or disregarded? In reading the pages of inspiration, 
and in listening to the preaching of the gospel ; does the 
mighty price which was paid to secure them, rivet your 
attention to every blessing presented to your notice , and 
instinctively call up a prayer for its possession? So far 
from despising or undervaluing one in all the vast assem- 
blage, do you venerate and admire the whole, and long 
for the perfect enjoyment of them all? Does a love of 



232 

spiritual blessings often lead you to the throne of grace; 
and when there, is it your constant supplication that he 
who spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us 
all, will freely give you all things, make you complete in 
Christ, supply all your need according to his riches in 
glory, and cause you to increase with the increase of 
God? 

If your conscience bear you witness in the Holy Ghost, 
that this really is your case : then no tongue can express 
your happiness. The lines have fallen to you in pleasant 
places: yea, ye have a goodly heritage. These desires 
and longings are not the product of nature. They never 
yet existed in a carnal and unrenewed heart. The men 
of the world mind earthly things, and have their portion 
here : and provided that they can secure the wealth and 
comforts of time, what care they for all the riches of re- 
deeming mercy, and all the treasures of eternal glory ? A 
love for religious enjoyments, and a relish for things di- 
vine, are the work of the Spirit, and mark their possessor 
an heir of heaven. "For they that are after the flesh do 
mind the things of the flesh ; but they that are after the 
Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally-mind- 
ed is death; but to be spiritually-minded is life and peace." 
This love and this relish prove that ye are not in the flesh 
but in the Spirit : for he that hath wrought you for the self- 
same thing is God, who hath also given unto you, in these 
holy desires and sacred longings, the earnest of the Spirit. 
And he is a rock: and his work is perfect. Having be- 
gun a good work in you, he will perform it unto the day 
of Christ. 

Other evidences of a renovated nature might be easily 
multiplied. But the possession of those which have been 
already enumerated, are sufficient to dissipate all cause - 
of alarm and dejection, to establish hope and peace in 
your hearts, and assure you that you are the objects of 
the love of God, and partakers of the high and invaluable 
blessings of the Gospel of his grace. Your religious pro- 
gress may not be equal to your wishes. Your spiritual 
attainments may be far below what you are anxious to 
reach: and you may be harassed with many conflicts and 



233 

trials, with much perplexity and fear, dejection and des- 
pondence. But still if your consciences bear you wit- 
ness in the Holy Ghost, that you are resting for ac- 
ceptance in the sight of God upon the righteousness of 
Christ alone, that Jesus is precious to your soul, that you 
are labouring to perfect holiness in the fear of God, and 
entertain a strong love and a growing liking for all that is 
pure and spiritual; you have reason to rejoice. The pre- 
sence of such dispositions and principles is a complete 
and satisfactory demonstration that you are born from 
above, and on the high road to never-ending glory. With- 
out the agency of the Eternal Spirit, they never could 
have found an entrance into your hearts. 

In the absence of such evidences as those which have 
just now been stated, no hope can be entertained of 
your safety. For after the Bible so distinctly tells 
us, that Christ is the way, the truth, and the life, and 
that no man cometh unto the Father but by him; 
and after it so plainly declares that if any man be in 
Christ he is a new creature, old things are passed 
away and all things are become new : it is the height of 
presumption and as much as your souls are worth, to che- 
rish the expectation of heaven without trusting in Christ 
alone for righteousness and strength, and being constrain- 
ed by his love to live, not to yourselves, but to him who 
died for you, and rose again. Other foundation can no 
man lay than that which is laid in his infinite and all-suffi- 
cient righteousness; and no man can have an interest in 
that righteousness who does not purify himself even as he 

is pure. 

Self-righteousness and religious insensibility, legality 
and antinomianism are extremes alike unscriptural and 
dangerous. If we have not been shut up to the faith, 
and brought to cleave to Christ alone for justification on 
the one hand, and compelled on the other to shew our 
faith by our works, and to abound in all the fruits of right- 
eousness which are to the praise and glory of God: we 
are strangers to the first elements of Christianity. Our 
faith is vain, and we are yet in our sins. 

Sin is the disgrace of our nature, and the only source of 
20* 



234 

our misery : and to hope for salvation whilst sin is retain- 
ed, is as absurd as to expect health while we are employ- 
ing measures to prolong our malady. Christ came to save 
us from our sins : so that along with the remission of ini- 
quity, he also produces a renewal of our nature; and at 
the same time that he imparts a right, he likewise confers 
a meetness for the inheritance of the saints in light. The 
first discovery which we obtain of our initial salvation, is 
from our begun sanctification. Men may amuse them- 
selves with whatever delusions they please: but if their 
faith is too feeble to subdue their sins, the awful day is 
not far distant when it will be found prodigiously too de- 
ficient in the strength requisite to suve their souls. " He 
that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can 
he love God whom he hath not seen ?" And the faith 
that is incapable of producing the present visible effects, 
which the Scriptures invariably ascribe to it, how can it 
accomplish those that are future and unseen? If unable 
to plant the fear and love of God in the heart, and array 
the life in the beauties of holiness; how can it transport 
the soul to glory? If it fails amongst the smallest mat- 
ters, with what safety can it be trusted in those of the 
most mighty and commanding interest? If on trial it 
gives way amidst the inferior things of earth and time, is 
it wise to rest on it for the infinite realities of heaven and 
eternity? 

But if your religion has shewn you the vanity of these 
lying refuges: if it has led you to the Saviour; convinced 
you that in him alone you can be justified and glory; en- 
deared him to your hearts, taught you to delight in his 
society and service, and to strive to magnify him in your 
body, whether it be by life, or by death: then your souls 
and all their interests are safe. You have fled to Jesus. 
And did he ever reject a soul that came to him? You 
are in Christ: and to them that are in him there is no 
condemnation. It was by such a faith as this that the 
saints in light found their way to the regions of everlast- 
ing rest: and if you abide in him, and cleave to him, your 
right to eternal life is as firm, and your souls as safe as 
those of the highest and happiest before the eternal throne. 



235 

In the righteousness of Him whom you love there is in- 
finite worth, enough for the free and full justification of 
"numbers without number;" and in his arm there is 
Almighty strength. Worlds unknown are upheld by his 
hand; and whilst it never grows weary, none of them are 
allowed to go wrong. Trusting to his righteousness, and 
protected by his power, what have you to fear? God is for 
you : and who can be against you. " To my sheep I give 
eternal life: and they shall never perish, neither shall any 
pluck them out of my hand: my Father who gave them 
me, is greater than all, and none is able to pluck them out 
of my Father's hand."" 

Here then at Inst, my dear Christian brethren, I must 
leave you in the hands of the great Shepherd of the sheep. 
He is full of kindness and full of care. "A bruised reed 
will he not break, and the smoking flax will he not quench. 
Although thou sayest thou shalt not see him, yet judg- 
ment is before him : therefore trust thou in him. 1 " He 
well deserves your trust : for with a power that is Almighty 
he possesses a faithfulness that never fails, and a compas- 
sion and kindness that know no bounds, and that never 
become weary. Search the Scriptures for clearer views 
of his character; and endaavour more and more to realize 
the freeness and all-sufficiency of his salvation. Live 
nearer to him, and labour to secure more and more of his 
fulness. In him all fulness dwells: and all things are 
yours. Take instant and complete possession of your in- 
heritance, and maintain a spirit and temper corresponding 
to your high calling and bright and blessed prospects. 
The worst calamity that Satan can entail on any of the 
children of Adam, is to shut them out of the joys of heav- 
en after death ; and you cannot inflict a more grievous in- 
jury on your own souls during the days of your pilgrim- 
age, than to exclude yourselves from the cheering hopes 
of the everlasting gospel, and the ineffable consolations of 
the Holy Ghost. 

Give diligence then to make your calling and election 
sure. Hold the beginning of your confidence steadfast to 
the end; and building up yourselves on your most holy 
faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, keep yourselves in the 



236 

love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus 
Christ unto eternal life. They that sow in tears shall reap 
in joy. Weeping may endure for anight; but joy com- 
eth in the morning. To you it shall be a morning with- 
out clouds, and in a land where the sun shall be no more 
your light by day, neither for brightness shall the moon 
give light unto you by night, for the Lord shall be your 
everlasting light, and the days of your mourning shall be 
ended. There the Lord shall be your everlasting light, 
and your God your glory. And can men or angels ex- 
press what such a portion includes? 



THE END. 



CHRIST THE ONLY HOPE. 

By various maxims, forms, and rules, 
That pass lor wisdom in the schools, 
I strove my passion to restrain; 
But all my efforts provM in vain. 

But since the Saviour I have known, 
My rules are all reduced to one : — 
To keep my Lord, by faith, in view, 
This strength supplies and motives too. 

I see him lead a suff'ring life, 
Patient amidst reproach and strife ; 
And from this pattern courage take 
To bear and suffer for his sake. 

Upon the cross I see him bleed, 
And by the sight from fear am freed. 
This sight destroys the life of sin, 
And quickens heav'nly life within. 

To look to Jesus as he rose, 
Confirms my hope, disarms my foes. 
The world I shame and overcome, 
By pointing to my Saviour's tomb. 

I see him look with pity down, 
And hold in view the conqVor's crown. 
If pressed with griefs and cares before, 
My soul revives, and asks no more 

By faith I see the hour at hand, 
When in his presence I shall stand. 
Then it will be my endless bliss, 
To see him where and as he is. 



238 

THE PATH TO HEAVEN. 

The path of sorrow, and that path alone, 

Leads to the land where sorrow is unknown. 

No traveller ever reachM that blest abode, 

Who found not thorns and briers in his road. 
##***&#** 

But He, who knew what human hearts would prove, 

How slow to learn the dictates of his love, 

That, hard by nature and of stubborn will, 

A life of ease would make them harder still ; 

In pity to the souls his grace design'd 

To rescue from the ruins of mankind, 

CalPd for a cloud to darken all their years, 

And said, "Go, spend them in the vale of tears." 

O balmy gales of soul-reviving air ! 

O salutary streams, that murmur there ! 

These flowing from the fount of grace above, 

Those breathed from lips of everlasting love. 

The flinty soil indeed their feet annoys! 

Chill blasts of trouble nip their springing joys ; 

An envious world will interpose its frown, 

To mar delights superior to its own ; 

And many a pang, experienced still within, 

Reminds them of their hated inmate, sin ; 

But ills of every shape and every name, 

Transform'd to blessings, miss their cruel aim ; 

And every moment's calm that soothes the breast 

Is given in earnest of eternal rest. 

Ah, be not sad, although your lot be cast 

Far from the flock, and in a boundless waste ! 

No shepherd's tent within thy view appear, 

But the chief Shepherd even there is near; 

Thy tender sorrows and thy plaintive strain 

Flow in a foreign land, but not in vain j 

Thy tears all issue from a source divine, 

And every drop bespeaks a Saviour thine. 



239 
CONFIDENCE IN CHRIST. 

Jesus ! lover of my soul, 

Let me to thy bosom fly, 
While the raging billows roll, — 

While the tempest still is high ! 
Hide me, O my Saviour, hide, 

Till the storm of life is past; 
Safe into the haven guide; 

O, receive my soul at last. 

Other refuge have I none, — 

Hangs my helpless soul on thee ; 
Leave, ah! leave me not alone, 

Still support and comfort me ; 
All my trust on thee is staid, 

All my help from thee I bring; 
Cover my defenceless head 

With the shadow of thy wing. 

Thou, O Christ, art all I want; 

All in all in thee I find ! 
Raise the fallen, cheer the faint, 

Heal the sick, and lead the blind : 
Just and holy is thy name, 

I am all unrighteousness, 
Vile and full of sin I am, 

Thou art full of truth and grace. 

Plenteous grace with thee is found 

Grace to pardon all my sin — 
Let the healing streams abound ; 

Make and keep me pure within; 
Thou of life the fountain art, 

Freely let me take of thee : 
Spring thou up within my heart, 

Rise to all eternity. 



240 

SAINTS' EMPLOY IN HEAVEN. 

Exalted high at God's right hand, 
Nearer the throne than cherubs stand; 
With glory crown'd, in white array, 
My wond'ring soul says, " Who are they?" 

These are the saints, belov'd of God — 
Wash'd are their robes in Jesus' blood; 
More spotless than the purest white, 
They shine in uncreated light. 

Brighter than angels, lo, they shine, 
Their glories great, and all divine ; 
Tell me their origin, and say 
Their order what, and whence came they? 

Thro' tribulation great they came, 
They bore the cross, and scorn'd the shame 
Within the living temple blest, 
In God they dwell, and on him rest. 

Unknown to mortal ears they sing 
The sacred glories of their king; 
Tell me the subject of their lays, 
And whence their loud exalted praise ? 

Jesus, the Saviour, is their theme ; 
They sing the wonders of his name ; 
To him ascribing pow'r and grace 9 
Dominion and eternal praise. 



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